REVIEW: AT BIRTH showing in Baron’s Court Theatre, 16th May – 20th May 2023

‘A tad stillborn’ ★★ ½

What’s in a sexuality? Can two people who like each other, even love each other (platonically) have a harmless fling despite their lack of sexual attraction? And if they did, how would they deal with some of the unfortunate consequences? AT BIRTH aims to answer these questions in snappy, dramatic fashion but ends up feeling a tad stillborn.

The two friends who find themselves in this little conundrum, the gay Isaac (Ty Autry) and lesbian Anna (Thalia Gonzalez Kane), fall into this sexual experiment during a late night commiseration session over the recent breakups of their respective long-term relationships. Initiated by Anna, the two drunkenly fall into each other’s arms, with more than a little instruction necessary for both parties to achieve satisfaction. All fun and games – until Anna turns out to be pregnant weeks later.

What follows occupies the majority of the play’s runtime as we go through the main beats of Anna’s pregnancy, her early agonizing over whether or not to keep the baby, her eventual acceptance of it, but only on her terms, all while Isaac is left to consider his role in the affair. It’s a novel yet highly flawed journey, with the brightest spot being Kane’s excellent job navigating Anna’s roving emotional highs between despair, elation and terror at the prospect of the coming baby. Next to her Autry performs well in the rapid back and forths that spark between the two friends but risks feeling wooden when he isn’t speaking, appearing less like a character in the background of a scene and more like an actor waiting until the part where they get to speak again.

Kane was also at times guilty of this, but had the advantage of rarely being in the background of things thanks to the script’s near-constant focus directly on her to the exclusion of her co-star (practically supporting actor) for the majority of the play. This intense focus overall harmed the play, as the opening scenes showed the most promise; when the two had equal ground they could demonstrate details of their lives through dialogue and action, keeping the play humming along nicely while also tackling thorny subjects like personal sexuality along with social attitudes toward sex. But as the play moves on these themes are discarded in favor of a cliched story of childbirth, one in which Isaac receives little to no growth or development while the lion’s share goes to Anna agonizing over her pregnancy. By contrast Isaac always wants the child and is constantly ready to be a parent, never faltering and never wavering. All this leads to a general deflation of tension that keeps the play from having a solid dramatic rhythm.

A final flaw as well was the minimal production values, a style that can work well in the tight, intimate space of Baron’s Court but which fell quite flat for this production. There were many shifts in place and time in the plot which were barely reflected, if at all, in the lighting, audio or set design. Perhaps most fatally of all, there were no costume changes, so the clothes Anna and Isaac wear the night of their tryst are the same ones they have in the delivery room, easily breaking even the most generous suspension of disbelief. Ultimately, one only got the sense that time and place had shifted when the actors explicitly stated as much – a clear failure to show rather than tell.

All in all the play has an interesting core, tackles quite tantalizing topics and certainly has good pace in places, but needs further refinement and re-drafting, both in terms of the script and production design, before it can fully come to life.

AT BIRTH showing in Baron’s Court Theatre, 16th May – 20th May 2023

Box office: https://www.baronscourttheatre.com/at-birth

Directed by Melissa Foulger

Written by Ty Autry and Thalia Gonzalez Kane

Produced by Crave Productions

Reviewed by Harry Conway