ROUGH DRAFT #19: THE WAITING ROOM
Image: Playwright Kylie Trounson
A poignant symbol of life in transition, a waiting room is a liminal space or ‘threshold’ over which our hopes and anxieties freely flow.
For playwright Kylie Trounson and director Naomi Edwards it is also an apt backdrop for a production exploring the myriad social and political impacts of IVF.
Says Edwards, “The stage demands relationships, so the reason to delve into this material … is to explore the human impact of the science … what are the costs and rewards to us as individuals, and to the ones we love.”
It’s also a topic that is close to home for Trounson, whose father was one of the pioneers of the groundbreaking fertility treatment in the early 1980s.
“I have been surprised by my relationship to the story of the development of IVF,” says the author and writer, whose Merman was nominated for Patrick White Playwrights’ Award in 2011.
“In some ways it was a strange way to grow up – knowing from a young age about the development of an embryo, hearing my Dad being discussed publicly as a ‘baby murderer’ or ‘playing God’, doing my bit to defend him in the playground, playing with the experimental mice and guinea pigs in the lab on weekends while he worked. I had never really thought much about how I felt about it all, I just normalised those experiences as I think all kids do with their childhoods. So it was surprising to realise that the criticism and controversy he attracted had been hurtful to me, and that I still felt some need to defend him and his work.”
The Waiting Room offers an opportunity to acknowledge, remember and celebrate this crucial work, work that has changed the lives of over 300,000 women worldwide to date.
As part the Sydney Theatre’s Company Rough Draft program – in which creatives are encouraged to crunch the development process into a week – the play features cameos from Eros, Aristotle, Galileo and a Neanderthal woman, as well as performances from Darren Gilshenan, Belinda McClory and more.
Of the challenges of this compacted timeline, Edwards quips, “How do you eat an elephant, one bite at a time.”
Jan 18, 6.30pm, Wharf 2, Sydney Theatre Company, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, free, 9250 1777, sydneytheatre.com.au
