Bitter Lemons

‘AJ’ (Chanel Waddock) is a goalkeeper, number 2 in the women’s team with an opportunity to move up to ‘1’.  Angelina (Shannon Hayes) is preparing a pitch in her corporate job that might bag her the promotion she is after.  Through the 65 minutes of this play, we see the overt and more subtle challenges these women face just trying to make the most of their lives.  They have plenty going on already and then they both find they need an abortion.  Not as graphic as The Years, in performance at least, but unsparing in the language and discussion about the practicalities and pressures they face and the ramifications of the decision.   It was great to see another play talking about this, at a time when what should be the most basic of women's rights has become contested again.

I wasn't convinced by the final reveal which felt a bit clichéd, but for showing the subtle but very real challenges that women still face, this was very nicely done.  I loved the chessboard type movements around the very simple set, the women moving themselves and their 'toolboxes' from one square to another as they dealt with the curveballs that were being thrown in their direction, changing their clothes, presenting differently as they tried to take control of their lives, with clear parallels being drawn between the two women although they have very different lives and goals.  Great performances from both actors, and an interesting hour drawing out how having a woman's body affects how they behave and are treated in the wider world, and the choices and compromises that they make.  

Afterwards. an extra treat was that now I have found the route with the smoothest tube transfers from Finsbury Park back to Waterloo, I even had time to get out at Embankment and stroll across the river, perhaps the last opportunity before autumn really kicks in.