ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the theme of motherhood through contemporary works of what Carol Martin calls theatre of the real from Argentina and Mexico. It considers how the elements of biography and theatre of the real contribute to a more integrated view of the figure of the mother. The chapter provides a brief review of feminist conversations on maternity and motherhood, with particular attention to Julia Kristeva's concept of the enceinte woman and Marianne Hirsch's proposals in The Mother/Daughter Plot, and Alison Stone and Elaine Aston's calls for more expansive visions of motherhood in feminist psychoanalytical theory. It then analyzes the examples of portrayals of mothers in Latin American theatre of the real from Vivi Tellas' Archivos, Lola Arias' Mi vida después, and Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol's El rumor del incendio and Montserrat. In Mexico, the troupe Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol focuses on representing the absence of the maternal figure in their documentary plays El rumor del incendio and Montserrat.
