“When you have nothing left to lose, you set yourself on fire.” 

 We all have our own coping mechanism – be it having ice cream by the pint, trashy reality tv shows, but for Eva – it’s mustard. The stage is quite bare, and the lighting is focused on our storyteller. We meet Eva at present, as she explains how she finds herself back in the arms of her ex-lover. This is probably the make or break for her, and you know it’s real for her because she literally bought an air ticket to fly over after a single text message from him. We then follow her back into time where she recounts through the events of her tumultuous love life, and how mustard has always been on her mind to cope with the stresses of life. In between the story of her love life, Eva also talks of the complicated relationship she has with her very Christian mother, and her home of Ireland. She leaves it all behind to pursue an artist life in London. When it all comes crashing down, she finds herself back in her small town, with nothing but her mother’s prayers and patience. It’s a fun and endearing moment when Eva starts to heal again on her mother’s insistence to join her for her weekly “Stitch & Bitch” – a Christian group of older ladies who knit together and just bitch. She finds solace in her older female companions who provide her with the right tools to begin her healing process. 

Read the full review at: https://www.theatretravels.org/post/review-mustard-at-the-arch-at-holden-street-theatres