Postpartum depression is a challenging topic to talk about in a truly theatrical manner. How do you represent an experience that most women experience in some manner, but which differs for each experience of it, in a manner that will be sufficiently specific while simultaneously relatable? Lisa Ryder’s script is one of the best efforts at this I have seen. It begins in a fairly normal-looking home; a couple are dealing with a new baby, husband needs to leave for a couple weeks for work, there are household things to do on top of the all-consuming baby care. Quickly we spin into a weird and zany world where two aliens are representative of the weird, sometimes funny, sometimes dangerous ideas that creep around in a new mother’s brain.
Monica Dottor’s direction is beautifully choreographed; the three lead performers are deft in their physicalization, so deeply rooted in their bodies that the strange and highly stylized movements seem completely natural, allowing the audience to slip into the mind and world of Alice, the new mother. It is weird. It is funny. It is wonderful. At a snappy 70 minutes, it leaves you satisfied, rarely with a moment to stop and breathe with its frenetic pace. Rather like motherhood itself…
A Blow In The Face runs to April 14, do catch it if you can.