Just give me the epidural!

'Birth' a play by Karen Brody

Eight local actresses – Kate Drummond, Heather Archibald, Nancy Kenny, Natasha Jetté, Chantale Plante, Robin Guy, Miriam Westland, and Corinne McDonald – appear in Birth next week on August 14, 15, 16 at St. Paul’s University Amphitheatre.

This oft performed play by Karen Brody has been compared to The Vagina Monologues, and – after having seen the first act of the play in rehearsal this evening – I might also compare it to Mom’s the Word, the two-part Vancouver series about raising children. Predominantly a storytelling piece with some interaction between the performers, the script focusses strictly on the state of pregnancy and the act of giving birth. All eight actresses play characters that are preparing to give birth, and they also play doctors, nurses, husbands, girlfriends, and other people involved in the process.

The first act (and presumably the second) is deeply personal without being too graphic. Some of the stories are very moving, while others are just kind of cute. One warning, though: you will hear the word “epidural” to excess.

The most important thing about this script is the notion of choice. The play is being presented as a fundraiser and lead-up to the International Breech Birth Conference that will take place in Ottawa from October 15 to 16. Both the conference and the play speak to the importance of a woman’s choice in giving birth: whether or not to have an epidural; having a natural birth or going for a C-section; what options are available when dealing with breech birth. It seems to suggest that there is always a variety of options.

For more information about the show, check out http://breechbirth.ca/Birth.html