"I once saw my mother playing Mary Magdalene in a parish event. But she had to put the role aside in order to go and front the choir who were singing at the same occasion. She left the stage halfway through the Crucifixion"
About this Quote
As an actress, Shaw is also clocking performance within performance. Her mother is cast as a figure synonymous with devotion and witness, then yanked into another role that’s more socially necessary: the organizer, the competent woman who can’t fully surrender to grief because the community needs her skills. The subtext is gendered without making a speech about it. The “Mary Magdalene” part is costume and symbolism; the “front the choir” part is labor and responsibility. She leaves “halfway through the Crucifixion” because duty doesn’t wait for narrative closure.
The line works as cultural critique in miniature. Irish and British parish events (and their broader Catholic theatre) often trade in high drama, but they’re run on volunteer energy, improvisation, and quiet matriarchal competence. Shaw’s punchline exposes the seam: religion as pageant, pageant as administration. It’s not cynicism so much as affectionate realism, a reminder that even at the most mythic moment, someone is checking the music, corralling voices, making sure the thing actually happens.
Quote Details
| Topic | Mother |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Shaw, Fiona. (n.d.). I once saw my mother playing Mary Magdalene in a parish event. But she had to put the role aside in order to go and front the choir who were singing at the same occasion. She left the stage halfway through the Crucifixion. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-once-saw-my-mother-playing-mary-magdalene-in-a-46689/
Chicago Style
Shaw, Fiona. "I once saw my mother playing Mary Magdalene in a parish event. But she had to put the role aside in order to go and front the choir who were singing at the same occasion. She left the stage halfway through the Crucifixion." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-once-saw-my-mother-playing-mary-magdalene-in-a-46689/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I once saw my mother playing Mary Magdalene in a parish event. But she had to put the role aside in order to go and front the choir who were singing at the same occasion. She left the stage halfway through the Crucifixion." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-once-saw-my-mother-playing-mary-magdalene-in-a-46689/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
