‘Milk’ is a fresh musical about all facets of (not wanting to) be a mother

Every time a child is born, ‘a mother is born’. That, that’s how the musical outlines Milk, is an event with an impact, from which much precedes and just as much comes from. Like a colorful mosaic of moments, the performance zooms in on motherhood. In one scene, a couple waits for the result of a pregnancy test; in another, a young mother tries to combine caring for her child with her work. There are also scenes about (un)intentional childlessness.

Milk is a sequence of flashes from very different lives. There is a conversation between two lovers (actors Jonathan Demoor and Roben Mitchell) who are looking for a surrogate mother, and a song in which a woman (Mylène d’Anjou) sings about the empty nest syndrome. Each scene stands alone, there are no recurring characters and the actors play multiple roles.

The fact that the musical still feels like a unity is – in addition to the common theme – due to the staging of Pim Veulings. A recurring element are white sheets and cloths, which are reminiscent of the period surrounding a birth and from which the players create a table, dress or child in their arms. Two semi-circular benches are moved across the stage or placed on their sides to give each scene its own setting. All of this is beautifully lit with bright beams of light (which could easily cause a lift) or with threatening red light, when someone furiously sings a stirring song about sterilization.

Scene in the musical ‘Melk’ by Nanoek.Photo Sjoerd Derine

Scene in the musical ‘Melk’ by Nanoek.Photo Sjoerd Derine

Space for play

Milk is one of the first musicals by the Nanoek Foundation, a young producer who, according to the website “a new and sustainable impulse [wil] give to the genre.” This innovation lies in the development of new Dutch productions in a theatrical style that differs from many other musicals that can now be seen: in Milk director Anouk Beugels, artistic director of Nanoek, gives a remarkable amount of space to play. The acting is subdued, creating intimate moments.

The pleasant, subtle text treatment stands out in a scene in which a doctor at an abortion clinic (Charlotte Dommershausen) defends her work to a group of demonstrators who are harassing patients. The doctor sticks to science, summing up facts, while the demonstrators shout their ideas about ‘hope and help’ increasingly loudly. This happens in a spoken word-like performance by the doctor, which counterbalances the protest melodies.

Dommershausen is, in addition to one of the players, the composer of the production. She captures emotions and ideas around motherhood in songs full of melodic vocals and electronic beats. The soundtrack crackles, just as the entire production exudes a certain freshness. Milk is somewhat fragmentary and not every storyline is equally original, but as a whole the performance makes you curious about what else will come from Nanoek’s nursery.

Scene in the musical ‘Melk’ by Nanoek.Photo Sjoerd Derine

Scene in the musical ‘Melk’ by Nanoek.Photo Sjoerd Derine