Mother Hode

Mother Hode is a one-woman play, performed by Joanna Swan and written by Steven C. Davis.

It is set 100 years or so prior to the activities of Robin Hood and is located in Sherwood. It is a world of gods and early graves, malevolence and malnutrition, class warfare, religious intolerance and sexual violence.

Hode was born to a single mother (her father, the forest god Cernunnos, acted like Zeus and used her mother for his entertainment). Puberty revealed the only aspect of her father that she gained – horns.

At that time Athelstan was uniting the warring tribes to create what became England, but to do this he broke families and communities apart – in essence, and as viewed by Hode, he was setting himself up as a Roman-styled Emperor.

Followers of her father want to sacrifice her; want her to become a living, breathing, substitute for their god that they can get to know carnally.

All Hode wants is the chance to have a family; to live a peaceful life with her partner and children.

She runs away into the heart of Sherwood with her man, Ælfric, and for a while life is good – they have three children, Eardwulf, Leofwine and Sunngifu. Times are hard but they have a home, they often have food, and they have each other. It is enough.

Outside of Sherwood, Athelstan is establishing a kingdom and all are falling before him – save for the forest kingdom of Sherwood, where freedom is valued, where Norse and Saxon live together peacefully, where family and community are cherished, not set aside for nationality.

A tale of love and loss, of standing for what is right, regardless. Parallels are drawn with the modern world – in a thousand years, not much has changed. A tale of seizing the day, and always doing what is right, no matter the cost. A play from the dark side of history that gains in relevance with every passing day.

Host or Publisher The Birmingham Black Box Theatre and Events Venue