Dorothy Atkinson

TV review: Comedy Playhouse, Mister Winner, BBC1

Whether this will be a series is another matter though.

Mum, series 1 review

This comedy is an exploration of a variety of humanity's biggest fears, spanning from bereavement and loneliness to relationships and family values. Humble and sympathetic, Mum presents a narrative that has plenty of scope to flourish within a second series.

Mum deserves an instant recommission. Every single week it has impressed in precisely the way Love, Nina hasn't. The subtlety of Kelly's (Lisa McGrillis) progression, from - yes, OK - gauche moron to a credible three dimensions has delighted all; Dorothy Atkinson steals most scenes; Lesley Manville remains with, sublimely, her best lines still inside her for a new series.

Mum had a masterful send-off for a sitcom - review

Bar the odd irresistible pursuit of a gag for the gag's sake, the scripts by Stefan Golaszewski purred as satisfyingly as anything in The Royle Family.

Review, Mum, BBC2, episode 3

There has been some grumbling recently about sitcoms that aren't wall-to-wall laughs and Mum might fall into this category.

Mum had no laughter track, but that wasn't the singular difference about this remarkable comedy [compared to Upstart Crow]. The fact that the glorious Lesley Manville hasn't played more comedy was the thing. An utter natural, she's so far been constrained by having to win seemingly endless awards in bittersweet Mike Leigh films, as if there's any other kind, but is now apparently freed up to slum it. Slum on, say I.

It's Butterflies for yet another generation, and as delightful. Again, a subtle mother - in this case a sudden widow- is the sane fulcrum around which certain fine madnesses, ranging from the silly to the grotesque to the heartbroken, revolve and tilt. It's a rather brave piece of engineering by BBC2 schedulers, gambling that the Friday night 10pm slot might attract an audience of wise young drunks, as well it might.

Manville is perfectly complemented by Peter Mullan, playing against type as seldom before - awkward, stuttery, shrinking, though I'd still never want to bat away his accent in a dark alley, and I'm bloody Scottish. Elsewhere, it's a dead heat for acting honours between Lisa McGrillis, as the son's exuberantly gauche girlfriend, and Dorothy Atkinson as the haughty sister-in-law, ("So what stopped you getting a pond in the end? Did you just realise it was...tacky?"). Two absolute stock comedy stereotypes, but seldom done better, and writer Stefan Golaszewski (Him & Her) somehow raises everything to a sharper level.

Mum is a new observational piece from Stefan Golaszewski who previously created fantastic Him and Her. The mum of the title is Cathy (Lesley Manville), a recently widowed fifty-nine year old who we follow over a year of her life. The opening episode takes place on the day of her husband's funeral in January and sees her meet her son's rather ditzy girlfriend Kelly (Lisa McGrillis) whose airhead nature is exposed early on when she decides to wear red to the funeral. As the episode goes on we meet the other colourful characters in Cathy's life including her good-natured brother Derek (Ross Boatman), his highly-strung girlfriend Pauline (Dorothy Atkinson) and her late husband's parents (Karl Johnson and Marlene Sidaway). The most intriguing character of the piece though is Michael (Peter Mullan), an old family friend who is quite clearly holding a torch for Cathy. Michael is painted as Cathy's only confidant in a houseful of oddities and their sweet-natured conversations are a good contrast for the laugh-out-loud moments found elsewhere in Mum. Anyone who enjoyed Him and Her will know how good an ear Golaszweski has for natural dialogue and if anything the conversations in Mum feel more organic than those in the creator's previous series. I think everyone will find something in this first episode in Mum that they identify with especially when the characters talk about what the post-funeral buffet will involve. Mum brilliantly combines its humour with moments of pathos such as the latter part of the episode when Cathy finally lets her grief get the best of her. By this point in the episode Cathy has already been painted as a sympathetic character by Golaszewski and the fact that we care about as much as we do is also a testament to the performance put in by Lesley Manville. Manville totally captures Cathy's feelings on the day of the funeral and is brilliant at reacting to the various characters that have come to her house. However it's the aforementioned breakdown that sees Manville at her best and I'm hoping that next year sees her win the BAFTA she lost out on this year. Great support is provided by Lisa McGrillis as Kelly and Dorothy Atkinson as Pauline the latter of whom utilises a number of great pompous facial expressions. But of the cast I was most impressed by Peter Mullan who is a revelation giving a rather subdued performance as the kindly Michael. Watching Mullan and Manville together on screen is a particular treat and their scenes together are some of Mum's best and that only continues as the series gets going. Mum is one of those series that I just can recommend enough and I urge people go and seek it out as it is really that good.