A collection of powerful and emotive stories delivered in nine monologues, Birth Stories contributes to the important history of how people come to be.
Rating
Excellent!
Birth is wonderful. After all, it’s where we all met the world properly for the first time, and where the world began to meet us. But birth is also hard, complex and risky. How people come into the world is a story that’s unique to them and their parents, and it’s not just the arrival of a baby; it’s also the arrival of parenthood and a new image of a family. Miraculous, dangerous birth.
The myriad challenges that expecting and delivering parents face are astounding. Every new and different story adds something to the narrative of how people came to be. Adding to this comes Birth Stories: a compilation of monologues centred around people who have created life. Nine stories give different perspectives on conception, pregnancy, birth, and life with babies and families. This is Narah Productions’ second run of this performance, and it is still beautifully put together.
Each monologue is based on real experience, and creators Charlie Mudie and Jessica Kingsley have curated a powerful and vivid experience. Impressive, given the only thing other than the cast was a single chair in an empty space. A wide variety of stories and situations gives rise to an even wider variety of feelings; the delivery of all of them felt spot-on. The right proportion of humour alongside all the more sentimental feelings was a great touch, and they all felt important to listen to.
The cast of eight is strong, and even though they all have their individual moments, something about how they all occupy the stage with force and belief in their stories makes it feel like an ensemble piece. While they all deserve heavy praise, extra applause goes to multi-talented Miriam Pancheva, who appears as on-stage musical accompaniment to another as well as performing her own monologue; Abner Montaung for his comic performance; and Charlie Mudie for a powerful and poetic rendition.
Every person has a birth story. So many are kept behind closed doors, especially the difficult parts. Birth Stories goes to show that we can celebrate life, however new, however short, however unexpected and however difficult the journey was to get there; we just need to talk and listen to one another.
Created by: Charlie Mudie and Jessica Kingsley
Produced by: Narah Productions
Birth Stories is playing at Courtyard Theatre as part of the Camden Fringe until Saturday 8 August
