Okay, let's get this straight. I'm a bloke and I'm a father - but I still found this hilarious, even though there were numerous times the jokes seemed uncomfortably real and close to home. Put it this way, the peals of laughter ringing around the Hippodrome were very definitely of the feminine variety.  Younger single guys scratched their heads in confusion; older, wiser men grinned, nodded and generally felt hard done to. But that was the point.

The play has a simple premise. Six different women, united in motherhood, tell their different stories of how becoming a mum changes their lives, forever. We can be the most modern men in the world - but that still does not make us mums. We can have the closet relationship with our children as they grow, but we are still not mums. That's why motherhood is a club for all women who become a parent whatever their background.

The script absolutely sparkled. The one-liners were crisp and written from experience. The belly-laughs were wonderfully juxta-posed with some of the more serious statements.

As for the casts, they were superb. They brought alive the six characters. Deborah - the professional woman played by Sarah White (formerly Bev in Brookside) was wonderful as she ranged from the manic to the loving. Linda, played by Rebecca Wheatley (Amy the receptionist in Casualty) held me riveted every time she said the words "Dear Partner" and I hoped the next message wasn't so close to the mark as the previous one.

Kim Hartman, formerly Helga in Allo Allo, produced for me the comedy highlight of the evening as she attempted to rock her baby to sleep. As a father it was a feeling I remember well. Maureen Nolan - another of the talented sisters - was convincing as the bohemian, arty woman turned paranoid mother who gave me the most poignant moment when she said that as a mother she was her family’s home. I understood that. Soap stalwart Polly Highton played Barbara with superb comedy timing. She answered the question of if you ever had to choose between the safety of your child and public nudity, which would you choose?  A wonderful moment. And finally Julie T Wallace's (The Life and Loves of a She Devil) Robin. She was the one who stuck rigidly by her principles about her bringing her Abby up a single mum - but found herself drawn into all the same traps as the other mums lured by those manipulating, energy-sapping, demanding, selfish, wonderful, loving miracles called children.

Maybe I should write the bloke's equivalent. How's "What do you mean you're too tired?"  sound as a working title?

The Tick List:

Script:

Laughter:

Cast:

Set:

Overall:

Buy tickets for events: