Showing for just two performances at this year’s Camden Fringe, Mother Tongue is a new show from charity Unique Community, and part of their Stories of Harrow project.
It’s a devised musical about language, created by Eastern European artists, and developed to offer support to Ukrainians after Russia invaded their country in February 2022.
The charity brought together a community of Russian speakers from across ex-Soviet Union states. For Mother Tongue, Nadiia Sychuk is both director and performer – a Ukrainian opera singer, she adds a delicacy to the project.
Oleh Nonik is the co-writer and main performer, tracking the progress of a man who leaves Ukraine for London, where language and culture clashes cause problems.
Ludmila Malinovskaia, co-writer and musical director, plays Language itself. She is a Russian singer and musician, interested in community and justice.
Mother Tongue, devised, developed and improvised before a scratch performance at the end of 2025, and is now a fully-formed story of migration and resilience.
Becci Perris joins the team as Language 2. She is a producer and community liaison at Unique Community. She is the voice of the English language here, offering tips on how to navigate a city where people can be rude, pushy, and intolerant.
Our main character works in construction, but his way is not the Western European way, causing conflict. A recurring trip to a shop emphasises misunderstandings when he ends up with items that vaguely approximate what he asked for – but not quite.
Mother Tongue is musical comedy, political comment, and physical theatre. It has resonance for those who find themselves on unfamiliar soil and empathy for their situation.
As a reviewer, I was given a copy of the programme which goes into detail about the journey Mother Tongue and its performers have taken. It proves to be an entertaining show that highlights the complexities of thinking in one language and making yourself heard in another.
As a musical, it isn’t sung through and doesn’t have any specific ‘big’ numbers; it is just a useful way for the actors to communicate emotions and ideas.
The performances gel together well, with Malinovskaia and Perris challenging each other every step of the way. Sychuk plays Nonik’s mother and numerous other characters he encounters as he adjusts to his first week in London.
Mother Tongue may, as Language tells us, feel “inconsequential,” but it is the story of many who choose or are forced to make a new life here. It was born from Unique’s Stork Project, which “harnesses the power of performing arts to help migrants navigate the challenges of adjusting to life in a new country.”
I’m giving this one 4 stars.
Mother Tongue is part of this year’s Camden Fringe.