James
Karas
Within the Glass,
Anna Chatterton’s new play is roller coaster of emotional outbursts dealing
with the highly sensitive issue of in vitro fertilization. An egg is fertilized
by sperm outside the body and the resulting embryo is transferred into the
uterus of the mother or a surrogate
The procedure is fraught with emotional and legal issues especially if
the embryo is transferred to a woman who will carry the embryo to term.
Michael (Rick Roberts) and Darah (Philippa Domville) are a successful
couple who live in a well-appointed house. She has been unable to conceive a
child naturally and they have resorted to in vitro fertilization without
success.
In their last effort, the clinic mixed up their embryo with that of
Scott (Paul Braunstein) and his wife Linda (Nicola Correia-Damude). Darah’s
pregnanacy was unsuccessful but Linda is carrying Darah’s and Scott’s fetus. (They
make a great distinction between “child” and “fetus”.
When the play opens the two couples are about to meet for the first time
to sort things out. Michael and Darah’s emotions are stretched to the breaking
point as they rush around in extremis while
expecting Linda and Scott. There is “a problem” to put it very mildly, indeed
there are many problems. Linda, as the carrier of the embryo” has become
attached to it and wants to keep the child. The words “abortion” and “adoption”
are mentioned as the two couples engage in vehement and volatile
arguments.
The emotional extremes are pushed even further with Michal becoming
attracted to Linda while her husband is fuming and wants nothing to do with the
fetus or the situation. He is an outsider to the whole situation with his wife
becoming attached to someone else’s fetus/child.
The complex and raw emotions involved in IVF and surrogacy may be
difficult for outsiders to comprehend. Add to that the grotesque error of
placing the embryo in another woman’s uterus and the situation becomes
monumentally explosive.
Within the Glass has numerous emotional spikes where the actors
perform at fever pitch. Chatterton has to somewhat stretch her material to fill
the ninety minutes that the play lasts. There is some well-placed humour but I
would have preferred a slower build up to fewer climactic scenes.
Rick Roberts and Philippa Domville are nervous wrecks as they rush
around trying to survive an awkward and frightful situation for them. They want
a child and after a few miscarriages they are near the end of their endurance.
Correia-Damude’s Linda has her own issues with the sanctity of life, her
emotional attachment to the fetus and her legal rights. Scott seems to be a
misconstrued character. He is supposed to be a poet which should indicate
emotional sensitivity and verbal skills. He comes out like a duffus who should
be driving a truck.
Andrea Donaldson directs the play at a brisk speed and she does not
understate any emotional reaction. The
production may have gained if more restraint were shown but the issues
addressed are so devastatingly emotional for the people involved in real life
and the characters of the play, that some of us may simply be unable to
appreciate.
Go see the play.
______
Within the Glass by Anna Chatterton opened on January 13 and will
play until February 14, 2016 at the Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave. Toronto,
Ontario. www.tarragontheatre.com
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