Jane Upton’s new play (the) Woman reaches London for a limited run at the Park Theatre. It is metatheatre at its boldest: messy, conflicted, and often very funny.
M (Lizzy Watts) is first seen in an idealistic, pristine view of motherhood, singing a saccharine song to her newborn. Only when she stands and turns around to show the bloodstain on her white gown does reality intrude.
(the) Woman plays with what is real and what is not. M is a writer trying to follow her hit play, “Riot” (so good people thought it was written by a man). But motherhood and how women respond to it doesn’t sell tickets.
Upton’s play has elements of autobiography and a large dose of the absurd. The staging is minimal, with two sets of steps moved around to offer locations, a screen, and sound to place us in various locations.
There are four people in the cast. Jamie-Rose Monk, playing seven different memorable characters, deserves considerable praise.
All the characters sit in judgement of M, but there’s a world apart between her mum, her best friend, and a fellow mother she met in hospital.
Angharad Jones’s direction really leans into the weird aspects of this play. Although there are strong themes that are worth exploring about becoming a mother, they are often lost in the structure – and some scenes lose charity due to some production choices like not having the young daughter on stage.
As M navigates issues around self-worth, sexual drive, peer envy, sexism, and plain obnoxious behaviour from those around her, (the) Woman attempts to tread a brutally honest path.
André Squire (as M’s husband and others) is the most centred character, who physically desires his wife but doesn’t register that their life has changed. He’s also good as the doctor who ‘cares about women’s issues’ because he has daughters but fails to say the right thing.
Watts navigates a monologue, physical movement, mental instability, comedy, and some scenes that leave us rather uncomfortable. The reality of ‘a mother’ as opposed to what a man wants it to be is starkly portrayed.
Josh Goulding has three pivotal roles, and the father in the toddler playground is the best of the three. His theatre producer is a stereotypical fool, chasing the ‘big time’; and as M’s teenage boyfriend, he’s tiresome.
(the) Woman is a production that says ‘look at me’, but there’s a lot going on, with captions, glitches, and ideas that don’t always land. Bella Kear‘s sound and Lily Woodford‘s lighting help distinguish what we are seeing, but the play doesn’t quite fit together for me.
3 stars.
(the) Woman continues at Park Theatre 200 until 25 Oct with tickets here.
Image credit: Charlie Flint