Review: Sara Barron: Anything For You

It’s never a compliment when your spouse compares you to a living parent, as Sara Barron both spells out and demonstrates with gusto. The first thing we see on entering the venue is a projected photograph of her mother, which rather suggests she is no longer with us.

This couldn’t be further from the truth, though. The older woman, a giant presence in her family’s life, comes in for a torrent of criticism, much of it amusing, from her penchant for talking about her love of travel to the ways in which she bullies her husband of 52 years.

Barron often finds the hugeness of her mother’s emotions overbearing at times, and experiences an uncomfortable reaction to one particularly upsetting incident. But she’s self-aware enough to acknowledge the discomfort of inheriting aspects of her mum’s personality.

It seems Barron is making the point that we should all be an upgrade on our parents, and if we feel we’re better than them they’ve probably done a good job. Along the way she presents some relatable – if generalising – material about differences in the way men and women deal with emotions, and she’s a compelling presence on stage with an obvious talent for comedy.

There’s lots to like about this show, but it's not entirely satisfying. Perhaps it would benefit from more insight into her mother’s upbringing, or a resolution that offers more than the admission of grudging parental respect.