REVIEW: ARE YOU THERE, MOTHER? By Thomas Carruthers, Camden Fringe until 14 August 2026

‘Carruthers is a fine storyteller.’ ★★★

Verging on horror, with plenty of power play, this is one for fans of Stephen King.  Performed and written by Thomas Carruthers, he plays a failing actor who is persuaded to pose as a psychic medium but in this creepy story Vincent’s sense of self is eroded and subverted.

Along the way Carruthers also takes on the voices of two women, the mother, Martha, and the daughter, Prudence.  Both these characters manipulate Vincent, who might think he is in control but eventually something rather twisted takes over.

Carruthers is a fine storyteller; the writing is bold and often very humorous, with many popular culture references. It also a believable story, as Carruthers sets it up so well.  Vincent is quite camp and has already attempted a drag act which didn’t go down too well with his mother; the similarity to herself not being well received by her. Vincent is a flawed character, and Carruthers has a lot of fun playing the role.

While Carruthers is convincing in the role, it doesn’t convince in other ways. The play premiered in Lawrence Batley Theatre and Carruthers Yorkshire accent is very refreshing on the London stage.  However, the ‘camp act’, does feel a little overdone in London, where so many plays are saying more important things about ‘queerness’ and redressing old wounds. 

There’s nothing wrong with pure entertainment of course and Carruthers has already had many successes travelling the world with Cunard Cruises, and his other work, includes farce musical Up North, Downtown which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre. With his production company, Righton, he has produced three plays, The Pageant Play, Ronnie and Clive and Are You There, Mother?

Happily, Curruthers is bringing his new play, Conflict of Interest, to London (at The Hen and Chickens Theatre, Islington 1 – 3 October) after a successful run in Sheffield.  Directed by Jazmine Sewsanker, this Legal Drama is set in Philadelphia and promises to be another hit for Carruthers.

ARE YOU THERE, MOTHER? By Thomas Carruthers, Camden Fringe until 14 August 2026

BOX OFFICE https://camdenfringe.com/events/are-you-there-mother/