'Meat Suit, or the s--tshow of motherhood' Off-Broadway review — genre-blending show uniquely explores the absurd realities of being a mom

Read our review of Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood off Broadway, a new show written and directed by Aya Ogawa that blends clowning, music, and satire.

Summary

• Meat Suit
• or the shitshow of motherhood uses clowning; satire; and music to explore the experience of motherhood
• The show is best when it dives into the strange and surreal by absurdly exaggerating ordinary experiences of motherhood
• The show is recommended for fans of clowning and of other absurd humor like that of Monty Python

Challenging certain creeds about motherhood has been on the minds of playwrights this season, with Liberation on Broadway, The Waterfall off Broadway at WP Theater, and now Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood off Broadway at Second Stage Theater. But while the memory play Liberation and the two-hander The Waterfall are relatively conventional in form, Meat Suit, written and directed by Aya Ogawa, is a jolting and sometimes riotously funny take on motherhood narratives.

In the form of a clownish variety show, Ogawa revels in the abject states, feelings, and textures of the maternal: the decay that happens to the body, mind, heart. Five actors — Marina Celander, Cindy Cheung, Robyn Kerr, Maureen Sebastian, and Liz Wisan — play moms and children at every stage, elaborating on the physical, mental, and emotional changes that come with giving birth. Assembled through Ogawa’s interviews with other mothers and child-bearers, the play presents familiar scenes as an absurdist collage: the competition between new mothers, the loss of rest and personal time, the cliquey PTA meetings that corrode parental morale, the waning interest and care from partners, and the fragile process of growing apart from one’s child.

Though many of these scenarios are commonplace, they’re shaped in delicious, deliriously grotesque, and surreal ways here. The competitive mothers circle each other like the playground is the Wild West. The PTA meeting transforms from a cult to a rave. The actors bunch together, and Calendar's head acts as a mother while Kerr's pops out from the side of the human blob as a child, gradually literally detaching themselves from the clump. Meat Suit is best when it leans into these extreme and goofy visions of maternity. The stranger the show becomes, the more effective and delightfully surprising it is.

Ogawa's exploration of the grossness of bodies, particularly birthing ones, is aided by Jian Jung’s terrifically lumpy, fleshy costume and scenic design. It both parodies the fate of aging that befalls all women and gives it a fantastical, plush tenderness. The actors’ silhouettes are morphed by tube-like breasts, hats both phallic and boob-like, and mushy side pouches.

Only when Ogawa's material gets saccharine, and its songs slide from clever-enough burlesque to sincere and somewhat anthemic, does the show falter. Though a moment of grace and authenticity is welcome, this note is played too long in the back half hour, interrupting the show’s flow.

Ogawa’s take on the bodily, psychological, and emotional tolls of motherhood is ravishingly unusual, sometimes warranting even more maximalism in tone and style. While Meat Suit doesn't necessarily feature many unique insights, this burlesque-y clown show nonetheless finds several new ways to examine mothering's joys and discontents.

Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood summary

Through song, clowning, sketch, and parody, Aya Ogawa’s cast of five explore the highs and lows of motherhood, focusing on the physical, emotional, and social changes that happen when one has a child.

The show is part of Second Stage’s 1st Stage program aiming to showcase thought-provoking, out-of-the-box productions in an intimate space.

What to expect at Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood

This radical expression of the most unglamorous, even the most resented, parts of being a mother are given form, shape, and style beyond mere retelling. The stage design, by Jian Jung, features hanging pink globs, with the cast at times playing definite characters whose friendships have been changed by having children, as well as an array of maternal and child archetypes.

What audiences are saying about Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood

During early performances, theatregoers have shared mixed responses to Meat Suit on Mezzanine, an app for tracking and reviewing theatre.

• “Some incredibly moving moments and an interesting fusion of bouffon clown with ‘more traditional’ structure in the way of a sketch-like episodic exploration of motherhood in all of its horror, beauty, and contradiction.” - Mezzanine user Jay Griffin
• “This was really not for me. The singing was not it. Definitely ambitious, I’ll give it to them – but most of it didn’t pay off.” - Mezzanine user Michale Lauria
• “I enjoyed this one. It was surprisingly emotional despite the strange way it was presented. I do enjoy a weird play, but the action text and the emotional arc of the show did not match the strange presentation.” - Mezzanine user Stephen Kearley

Who should see Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood

• Monty Python fans will appreciate the absurdist humor featured in the sketches and Ogawa’s ability to take banal situations and amp them up to their most unusual.
• Fans of Cindy Cheung (M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water) will enjoy her versatility playing an exhausted mother, a sophisticate with a very close relationship with her hand-puppet dog, and many other characters.
• Fans of bouffon-style clowning — a style that’s influenced performers from Sacha Baron Cohen to RuPaul Drag Race’s Jimbo the Drag Clown — and the way those jesters employ grotesquerie, biting satire, and the texture of the body will enjoy Meat Suit, which brings that kind of clown into the world of motherhood.

Learn more about Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood off Broadway

At once absurdly funny, divinely bizarre, and absurdly poignant, Meat Show finds a new and exciting way to express the trials, tribulations, and thrills of having children.

Learn more and get Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood tickets on New York Theatre Guide. Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood is at the Pershing Square Signature Center through March 15.

Photo credit: Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood off Broadway. (Photos by Joan Marcus)