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The parentheses around the word “the” in the title suggest that the author, Jane Upton, is playing on the distinction between the specific and the generic. To extrapolate from the experience of one woman to the lives of all women would seem a monumental undertaking, but that appears to be the aim. However, the play turns out to be largely another story about a writer who is striving to write a play. In this case, M struggles with her desire for professional success and with the emotionally shattering challenges of motherhood. (the) Woman seems to emerge from the familiar “write what you know” dictum so often heard in creative writing classes. It recounts a personal trauma, seeks to universalise it, and employs the increasingly hackneyed device of a play that comments on the act of playwriting. This meta-trope is ubiquitous at present. Recently, it was used to nice ironic effect in the slight but upbeat musical Get Down Tonight, which we saw earlier this week. Here, however, the technique, like the dilemmas of the protagonist, is meant to be taken with full seriousness. When M discovers that motherhood is not the uncomplicated joy she had imagined, she also realises she is surrounded by dolts. From the insensitive NHS nurse to the vapid media executives, the characters are caricatures milked for easy laughs. Most of the humour derives from the obtuseness of those around M, who remain oblivious to her pain. Lizzy Watts is totally convincing as the self-absorbed but anguished M, while Jamie-Rose Monk displays impressive versatility in the various roles that serve as M’s foils. André Squire gives a fine performance as M’s long-suffering husband, with the show’s most authentic moment emerging in his dialogue with M late in the play. At one point, M writes a letter to herself cataloguing her trials, and her mother’s diplomatic response to having it read to her is simply: “It’s long.” Despite its ninety-minute run time, that comment also neatly captures the experience of (the) Woman.
Rated: ★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Charlie Flint
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