Jennifer Ludlum returns to stage as fierce matriarch

Jennifer Ludlum is on stage again and this time, as a ferocious, complicated and dramatic matriarch in Silo's Mother Play. Written by American Pulitzer-winning playwright, Paula Vogel, it first debuted on Broadway in 2024 and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. It follows a mother - and her two children over four decades across five evictions and Jennifer who plays the role of the mother - Phyllis - has a complex relationship to her two children Carl and Martha. The show is set against political and societal changes in America; from the 40s to the 80s. Jennifer Ludlum is well known to audiences as Shortland Street's Leanne Black, finishing a 12-year stint in 2023. But since then, she's returned to her theatre roots appearing in several theatre shows including ATC's Murder on the Orient Express earlier this year. She speaks to Culture 101 about tackling a role she describes as 'tricky' and why theatre remains her first love.