Mommy Vs: One Parent’s Battle Against Peppa Pig and Post-Natal Depression brought to the Stage
Have you ever wanted to know how a new mum would do in a fight with an eight-foot-tall animated pig?
Well, wait no longer!
Wrestler, writer, and performer Heather Bandenburg has answered that niche question and much more in her new Work In Progress show Mummy Vs. A mum to a toddler, Heather’s new show brings her life in lockdown to the stage, showcasing what it was like learning how to be a parent while also battling a global pandemic.
And her biggest battle came in the form of the cartoon pig who has been delighting children across the country for years…
“For me, Peppa Pig is a great example of something that was a huge thing for me when I first had a child,” Heather told Grapple Theory.
“For a long time, not anymore, I was terrified of showing my child TV because I was so worried it would impact his imagination – which is complete bollocks that’s not how it works.
“But, in lockdown I just had to laugh about it. I made it this huge thing I couldn’t escape and I had to fight it and battle it. I was on maternity leave but there was no childcare. I went completely insane, as I’m sure a lot of people did, but also because I was raising a child. I thought it was at least enough to write a show about.
“It got to the summer and I had so many ideas about matches I would have in my real life – like against Peppa Pig. It was a very therapeutic way to deal with my Post-natal depression, sadly, and trying to think about how I could turn this into something I could put out there.
“Peppa Pig is not a nice person, she’s like eight foot tall, she owns an empire, she’s horrible to her brother and dad, she’s absolutely power hungry.”
And, in her quest to take down Peppa, as well as other foes like Budget Cuts and Earth Mother, Heather has enlisted the help of some of her wrestling pals.
The show, which is billed as part interview, part theatre and part wrestling, will include BritWres stars like Olivia Lajwii, Michael Reece, Claire Heafford and Pro Wrestling Eve Champion Rhia O’Reiilly.
And Heather admits, that despite the fact she has plenty of friends in the industry, she was overwhelmed by the number of wrestlers who wanted to take part in Mummy Vs.
“I have a lot of wrestlers working on it and I know they’re just doing it for friendship. They’re all fantastic performers and they love me. I feel really blessed,” she said.
“It’s been nice because a lot of the wrestlers haven’t worked together before so it’s a good way to ease back into it.
“You don’t want your first match back to be a debut at Progress.”
She went on to tell Grapple Theory about the struggles of putting together a performance-heavy wrestling-style show in the middle of a pandemic – with the biggest struggle, naturally, coming in the physical activity.
She said: “We had to get people to wrestle and fight across the room, it was really fun and at the end of it we ended up with a great cast of people. We had to make sure we all did Covid tests and just had to push through and do it.
“It was the first time in six to eight months with more than just a couple of people and not only that but also being physical and wrestling – sometimes with people you’d never met before.
“We had to be touching and hugging each other and wrestling and it was really weird.”
Heather also had help in the production of the show and characters from a BritWres star who is making serious waves on the British circuit – Progress Champion Cara Noir.
“Tom Dawkins [Cara Noir] has been helping us with getting everyone ready, I’ve been so blessed to be working with him. He’s been travelling to tapings in between, really going from one to a million,” Heather said.
“Tom is amazing. He’s very approachable and, as a person, he’s really at the front of this push for wrestling to be seen as an art form. If you want to be a wrestler you should be treated the same as someone who puts in the same hours at an art or drama school.
“I’ve met other wrestlers who have been ‘famous’ who have horrible egos and aren’t encouraging but Tom is absolutely not like that at all. He’ll really make you look at the inspiration for your character and the reasons for it. But, also he’s been wrestling for a long time and had a few gimmicks and has developed as a wrestler and performer because he’s been very brave in order to help him stand out.
“The way he worked with the wrestlers in their story telling and how they can push audience buttons is huge.”
Heather herself is an in-ring performer, commonly known in the British Lucha Libre scene under the name Rana Venenosa. She hasn’t wrestled since before the pandemic and due to being six months pregnant, at the time of writing, she won’t be back in action until next year.
But she hopes that her Work in Progress show will be even better once she’s able to get back in the ring.
However, having seen Covid cause havoc in the BritWres scene, with venues and promotions closing their doors, Heather is hoping the community will be able to bounce back in the coming months.
And she’s counting on an influx of exciting and different types of talent, as well as the knowledge of Speaking Out, to make that happen – both in and out of the ring.
“In my cast two of my wrestlers have backgrounds in drag and they’ve brought in a whole new interest from the Queer community with people who now want to give wrestling a go.
“BritWres would have died a death without these sorts of performers. Cross-fertilisation is essential to keep interest in wrestling and to keep it new and fresh and take it back to where it was.
“I’ve had many experiences of going to BritWres show and felt uncomfortable because I’m a woman and have had wrestling explained to me by people who don’t know I’m a wrestler. I was at an Eve show once when I wrote my book and they were amazing and allowed me to sell it at the show. I was talking to these people about the show and there was a guy behind me who butted in and told me he wouldn’t buy my book because he didn’t have enough money – while holding two pints which must’ve cost at least £10 – and then he talked over me about wrestling to these people.
“I just thought ‘in what environment in the normal world is this okay’. But having these conversations now will change that. I don’t think after Speaking Out people will behave like that. I love the BritWres community because it’s so weird and so nice and I’m so worried for it because I don’t know who will be able to bounce back from it – both in terms of wrestlers and companies.
“Wrestling has survived wars and everything so it will come back, but it will come back different. But I hope these small places will be able to survive.”
Mummy Vs is a show that takes some of the toughest experiences life can throw at a person and shining a bright light on them – and in the end, isn’t that the type of escapism we all look for in wrestling. And if reading this hasn’t convinced you to see the show then consider this…the song Come On Eileen features no less than nine times.
“I loved that song when we started and I hate it now,” Heather jokes.
Mummy Vs is taking place at the Stanley Arts Centre in Norwood Hill, London, on Friday, June 11.
There will be two Covid safe shows. One at 6:15pm – a BSL interpreted show, and a second
show at 8:30pm.
For more information visit https://heatherbandenburg.co.uk/mummy-vs
And follow Heather on Twitter @Ranabitesback
