Birthrights

David Williamson’s new play‘Birthrights’ played a season at the Playhouse at the Sydney Opera House, as part of the Ensemble’s subscription season.

Australia’s leading playwright. Williamson’s plays are always worth looking at. When he’s on fire there are few more incisive playwrights. Williamson always has a meaty issue to tackle. With ‘Birthrights’ Williamson takes on the issue of women’s fertility and its consequences. Young sophisticate Claudia makes a decision that will dramatically turn her life around. Claudia’s older sister Helen is devastated when she is told that she will never be able to have a baby. Her marriage to Mark is on the rocks.

Claudia decides to take action to help her older sister. She chooses surrogacy- and has her brother in laws child via artificial insemination and then immediately hands her daughter Kelly to her sister for adoption.

Claudia’s decision ends up biting her…when she and her partner Martin later find out that they can’t have a baby, and Kelly becomes the only child that she will ever have.

I have to say that I did not rate this play as one of Williamson’s best. The issues were certainly there. There are few more heart rending issues than a woman who has problems conceiving, together with the whole issue of adoption.

A Williamson quote for the play has good relevance:-‘The clash of intellect and our emotion, our sense of fairness and our capacity for bastadry, are at the heart of all drama. It’s what makes life difficult. It’s what makes us human’. In ‘Birthrights, Claudia’s battle in the play turns out to be between wanting her own needs met, and maintaining her own sense of fairness.

My problem with ‘Birthrights’ is that it never really connected on a gut level. I never really went under its spell!

The Ensemble production directed by Sandra Bates was faithful enough. Michelle Doake as Claudia as always bestrode the stage effortlessly and confidently. Katherine Jones was strong as Helen’s screwed up daughter Kelly. Andrew Doyle was effective as Helen’s wealthy, conservative, controlling husband, Mark.