It’s not every day you get to see a play that centres on the relationship between a Black Caribbean mother and daughter. The sold-out success of Not Your Superwoman shows just how much audiences are hungry for these stories. Hopefully, its triumph will pave the way for more Black family narratives to take their rightful place on stage.
Written by Emma Dennis-Edwards and directed by Lynette Linton, Not Your Superwoman follows Joyce (Golda Rosheuvel) as she prepares to take a holiday with her adult daughter Erica (Letitia Wright) to her hometown of Guyana. For Erica, it’s her first-time visiting Guyana and since she and her mum rarely go anywhere together, the trip seems like the perfect chance for them to bond. But things aren’t that simple. Erica hasn’t spoken to Joyce since she skipped her engagement party, and the real reason for this trip is to scatter Joyce’s mother’s ashes back home.
With grief and frustration hanging in the air, tensions build as mother and daughter share a suite in the tropical heat. Unasked questions and half-answered truths push them further apart. Joyce longs for a better relationship with Erica than she had with her own mother Elaine, while Erica simply wants her mum to be more open instead of hiding things under the phrase her grandmother Elaine often used: “big people business.”
The play asks: will Joyce repeat the same mistakes that broke her bond with her mother, or will she finally choose a different path with Erica? As ashes are scattered, secrets unravel, and painful cycles are confronted, both women are forced to reckon with generational trauma. The question is, can love and honesty be enough to break it?
As I entered the Bush auditorium, the set designed by Alex Berry immediately caught my attention. A box stood in the centre of the room with the seating curved around it. Inside were three plastic chairs with screens wrapped around the box. The audience buzzed with excitement, eager to hear a story that represents so many of us and to watch it brought to life by two incredibly talented Guyanese actresses.
What I loved was the way Letitia and Golda interacted with one another. Their performances felt so raw and believable. I could feel the weight of their emotions, their pain, and their frustrations. Watching their fragile relationship unfold made me reflect on how blessed I was to share a wonderful, open bond with my own mum, while also stirring deep sympathy for those who struggle with fractured mother and daughter connections.
Letitia brought a beautiful balance to Erica, brave yet quietly afraid, while Golda made Joyce both guarded and deeply vulnerable. Together, they moved seamlessly between heartbreaking honesty and moments of humour. They managed to find the perfect sweet spot, tackling heavy themes with sensitivity while weaving in just enough laughter to keep the performance uplifting rather than overwhelming.
While I enjoyed the performances, I do wish the stage had offered more. The screens worked well in transporting us to different places and emotions, but they weren’t quite enough to fully draw us into Joyce and Erica’s world. The plastic chairs felt a little too minimal, almost fringe-like, and I couldn’t help but feel that a few additional set elements would have gone a long way. I also found it slightly confusing that the grandmother was played by both Letitia and Golda, and I think having a completely separate performer might have added more clarity.
That said, the play as a whole was great. It made me laugh, reflect, and even brought tears to my eyes. As a Guyanese, seeing two Guyanese actresses perform a story set in Guyana felt like a rare gem, and it filled me with pride. Watching Kaieteur Falls, the world’s largest single-drop waterfall, appear on the screens and hearing those classic Soca tunes instantly transported me back to my childhood. That alone made the play feel truly special.
Not Your Superwoman reminds us that not every generational behaviour has to be passed down. For me, it even made me reflect on the small things I grew up doing, like carefully wrapping strands of fallen hair in tissue so no one could use them for Obeah. It mirrors Joyce’s own belief that the women in her family were cursed by Obeah with reaching a certain age and facing pregnancy complications.
The play has a way of reaching you through laughter, through tears, and through quiet reflection, and it leaves you feeling both hopeful and inspired. Joyce and Erica represent the superwomen in us all, and Letitia and Golda were the perfect duo to bring them to life. It was powerful to see two Black Guyanese women on stage telling a story, written and directed by Caribbean women too. Black Caribbean female excellence at its finest.
It is no surprise that every show has sold out. Not Your Superwoman is a must watch.
NEED TO KNOW:
- Not Your Superwoman plays at Bush Theatre until 1 Nov 2025 | See listing
- This production is sold out but you can join the waiting list, here
