Food and love are intertwined in this tale of two mothers who must find the courage to confront the secrets and misunderstandings of the past, in order to set their sons free.
Apron Strings is a parallel story of two families and two cultures set in suburban Otahuhu in South Auckland, New Zealand. It explores the boundaries of nurture and control, mothering and smothering, and how we sometimes have to let go of our individual sense of what is ‘right’, to do what is ‘good’ for all. As the Pakeha family struggles to move out of a co-dependent stalemate that stops them moving forward, our Indian family have to confront misunderstandings and secrets from the past that tore their family apart. At the heart of our stories are three women whose lives and livelihoods revolve around food. LORNA, in her old fashioned cake-shop; TARA, in her no-frills curry-house and ANITA on her stylish Indian cooking show on TV. Hard working Lorna must not only deal with her unemployed stay-at-home son BARRY and his chronic gambling addiction, but also reckon with a tragic past that haunts them both. Their co-dependant relationship is as habitual as any addiction. For the stylish and beautiful Anita, the host of her own TV cooking show, everything comes to a head when her son MICHAEL decides to meet her estranged sister Tara, and delve into a past that she cannot bear to face. And for the more traditional Tara, Michael’s arrival in her life opens up old wounds that challenge her seemingly peaceful life as a spinster.
A character driven story, Apron Strings delves into the tender yet complicated relationship between mother and child. Sometimes, in order to grow and forge new connections, old apron strings have to be cut loose. Letting go, is the best embrace.