Blooming Nightmare - Belgrade show puts grind of new motherhood in the limelight

(the) Woman by Jane Upton. Belgrade Theatre B2 Stage. 27 and 28 February. A New Perspectives Theatre Company production. Tour dates on their website.

Review by Annette Kinsella

Fun fact: an unborn baby requires such a huge amount of nutrients and energy from its mother that if it were any other parasite it would kill its host. Think of THAT when you tell an expectant mum they are blooming.

Joking aside, the contrast between societal expectations of motherhood and the stark reality is the focus of Jane Upton’s extraordinary play (the) Woman, at the Belgrade Theatre.

The action – if that’s the word – focuses on M (Lizzy Watts), proud mother of a new baby daughter, as she negotiates her new normal of sleepless nights, breastfeeding, cracked nipples and the other glamours experienced by the average primigravida.

From her first entrance on stage in a bloodstained post-labour nightdress, Watts lifts the curtain on how her new status changes her life – from the (male) play commissioners who decide her plot needs beefing up with the addition of a psychic detective infant, to her ‘woke’ partner unable to cope with her lack of libido or energy.

The plot is disjointed and kaleidoscopic, perfectly reflecting the disconnection of the early days of parenthood when day and night merge into one and leaving the house is a military operation.

While the themes themselves are nothing new – the hit BBC comedy Motherland recently ploughed the furrow of toxic mum gangs for laughs to great effect – this play gives them a new, razor-sharp edge. An incredible scene featuring a demonic glowing-eyed infant levitating malevolently above its cot conjures up similarities between the fantastic Prevenge, penned by Coventry-born Alice Lowe, which also explores the strange macabre of pregnancy and maternity, when the desperation of the new mother means the threat of ultraviolence is never far away.

It wasn’t perfect – the script could do with a good edit to cut away some of the fat and to maintain a steady pace. But the perspective it offers of a new mum struggling to cope in a hostile environment peppered with snowy cellular blankets and fluffy sleep suits is unique and powerful. Well worth a watch.

Tickets for tonight’s performance (28 Feb): https://www.belgrade.co.uk/events/the-woman/

For more dates and venues: https://www.newperspectives.co.uk/the-woman