August 09-13th 2023, The Broadwater Black Box Theatre.
‘Director Brooke Williams elicits excellent nuanced performances from both actresses’ -Guy Picot ‘Gia on the move’
About the Show
Emma’s been seeing Darren. She thinks she’s in love. Her boss thinks she’s in breach of contract. The situation needs to be resolved. With notes of Severance and Succession, award winning playwright Mike Bartlett’s ink black comedy explores themes of surveillance culture, capitalism versus the human being and what it means to be a successful woman, in the modern world. This thrilling 60-minute nail-biter asks each of us, ‘How far would you go for success?’.
Reviews
Excerpt from directors notes
‘Contractions’ is a modern day parable, flickering between the hyper real and an acid trip fever dream. Although written in 2008, it feels strikingly relevant in our current climate with the ‘post’ pandemic world economy still feeling covid 19’s sting. When the Manager threatens Emma with ‘the way things are these days’ it’s not a stretch to relate. Especially with the current WGA and SAG strikes. Powerful corporations proving in the most egregious and shameless way that to them, greed rules and humans are irrelevant. A theme that pertains to any society and timeline dominated by capitalism.
There are so many fascinating explorations in this play. Surveillance culture, language as a tool for violence, the effects of structural misogyny- to name a few. To me, the most compelling element of this story is the dire consequences of existing within systems that create pain and then allow no space for it. The Manager represents the system, but she too is a victim of it. The focus of our exploration and play has been centered around the humanity of these people and understanding why they make the choices they do. However appalling they may appear to be.
‘Contractions’ is undeniably bleak. But maybe there is a little spark of hope? Perhaps the more we tell stories like this and open up conversations about why we live the way we do, the more incentive we feel to connect, to embrace community, to be better listeners. I know I do.