Doctor and a mother in play (5)
I believe the answer is:
drama
'play' is the definition.
(I know that play can be written as drama)
'doctor and a mother' is the wordplay.
'doctor' becomes 'dr' (abbreviation).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'mother' becomes 'ma' (ma can mean mother).
'dr'+'a'+'ma'='DRAMA'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for drama that I've seen before include "Exciting play or event" , "Plays as branch of literature" , "Play (as a genre)" , "sensation" , "Play; emotional event" .)