Ripening review | Gasworks Arts Park

Ripening, written and directed by Jayde Kirchert, explores the experience of pregnancy through Lea, a woman nearing the end of hers. She focuses closely on Lea's personal journey, supported by an all-female cast, that offers different perspectives on what it means to become a mother. It’s a thoughtful look at some of the challenges and emotions that be stirred up in the lead up to giving birth. 

Kirchert delivers an engaging exploration of the path to motherhood through Lea (Veronica Thomas), a woman on the cusp of giving birth. Although Lea is in a relationship with her male partner, his complete absence from the narrative allows Kirchert to centre her story and amplify a range of viewpoints on motherhood via an all-female cast. The play also does an excellent job of creating a bond between Lea and the audience - regardless of whether they’re pregnant, female, or neither.

Grass review

We're all guilty of thinking the grass is always greener but we don't often get to find out for certain if this is true. In Yvonne Martin's new play, Grass, over a bottle of wine, two friends who haven't spent time together in over a year, finally put this to the test as they open up about children, family, careers and the freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want.

This catch-up is interspersed with flashbacks showing the gradual deterioration of their friendship and while this gives performers Stephanie Daniel and Sarah Oldmeadow more to do with their characters, they don't add anything to the narrative as Lil and Aimee already express this in the present. We know why they drifted apart and how they blame the other for the rift in their friendship so seeing it act out provides no extra insights. Martin also allows an opportunity for the women to break out of the scene and share their inner thoughts with the audience. Her direction here is a little awkward as we wait for the other woman to leave the stage and would have been more effective if she had remained in the background as the monologue occurred.

The Kick Inside - Melboourne Fringe Festival review

Kerensa Diball is 38 and has no children. She's in a long-term relationship and is able to have children but she's chosen not to have any. They're simply not what she wants from life. As part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, The Kick Inside has Diball unpacking her reasons behind this and looking at the responses she's received from those around her and the judgements from society.

Deciding whether you have children or not, is a difficult choice to make. There are many issues to take into account and there are pros and cons with both outcomes. Unfortunately, we are not informed about the factors leading to this in satisfying detail. With the show running at just under 40 minutes of an advertised 50, you're left wondering why Diball has raced through so much surface level material and not taken the time to share these more intimate musings regarding her decision-making process and whether there were any moments when she has regretted this. There are a lot of thoughts being expressed but none of them appear to be fully fleshed out.

At one point, Diball mentions her apprehension in telling her mother and grandmother that she won't be providing the family with a next generation but sadly does not return to this. Recorded phone messages from herself and her mother play as interludes between scenes but they are absent of dramatic tension or engage us adequately. Exploring the pressures and anxieties of this situation would make for some interesting stories and conversation while keeping at the heart of the subject matter.

Mockingbird review

Giving birth and becoming a mother are supposed to be some of the most fulfilling and happiest moments of a woman's life. Except when it's not. Postnatal depression (PND) affect 1 in every 7 women who give birth and in Mockingbird, writer and performer Lisa Brickell places PND under the spotlight.

Through comedy, cabaret and mask play, Brickell weaves a tale that follows four generations of women from one family and how PND impacts each woman and the cruel and painful ways that it was treated and the stigma they had to endure. Our protagonist is Tina, a counsellor who is experiencing some anxieties about having children with her partner. Tina begins to share with us the stories of her great grandmother, grandmother and mother and how these events have come to play on her mind with regards to becoming a mother.

Baby Cake - Next Wave Festival review

There aren’t many women in the world who can say they’ve never thought – or been asked - about having children. Regardless of the answer, it is a question that ultimately needs to be answered with the ramifications of that choice coming into effect for the rest of their lives. Kerensa Diball and Yuhui Ng-Rodriguez are two friends, one is a mother and one is not, and in Baby Cake, they look at what it means to be a woman and a mother, with a little help along the way.

Ng-Rodriguez has a 2-year-old son, Mori and throughout the show she discusses the changes in her life, particularly in how she balances this with her career as an art maker and the compromises she has had to make to continue working while being a mother. On the other side of the spectrum, Diball has no children, but she did acquire a parasite called blastocystis hominis after eating some raw goat’s cheese in Turkey so she has some idea on what’s it like to be a mother.

The Birth of the Unicorn Mermaid - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

Unicorn Mermaids do not exist. Or do they? Presented as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, The Birth of the Unicorn Mermaid proves that mythical creatures can be real…well, sort of. As Ophelia Sols throws the baby shower to end all baby showers, ideals of motherhood, and what makes a good mother or a bad mother begin to surface.

After being on a diet of sugar, salt and glitter Ophelia Sol (Ruby Hughes) is ready to give birth to the first ever Unicorn Mermaid. She can finally show up all her friends by having the most unique and talented child that anyone has (and will) ever set their eyes on. But first thing’s first: she needs to throw the best ever baby shower.

While firmly set in the real world, Hughes adds an element of bizarreness with the inclusion of how Ophelia becomes pregnant and the science behind her efforts. While we scoff at her out-there plan, there is conviction in Ophelia’s theory so it ends up feeling highly probably that it will work. This combining of two different realities works quite well in setting the scene and the environment.

However, the story itself seems to get stuck as it ends up focusing more on how great this baby will be rather than trying to go inside Ophelia’s frame of mind and learn more about her reasons why. She comes across as vain and spiteful and we never get more than a glimpse of her insecurities to be able to connect with her more and understand why she is doing this.