: Jane Upton
: (the) Woman
: Nick Hern Books
: 9781788508858
: NHB Modern Plays
: 1
: CHF 13.90
:
: Dramatik
: English
: 104
: Wasserzeichen
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
M is a writer. M is a mother. M is a woman. The triumph of M's hit play is hijacked by motherhood. She is burnt out, angry, lonely, craving intimacy but disengaged, and terrified of the future. She wants to tell her story, her way. But everyone keeps giving her their opinions on who she is, who she ought to be, and how she's fucking everything up. Fiercely funny and brutally honest, Jane Upton's play (the) Woman shatters the glossy veneer of motherhood, exposing its raw, messy truth and what happens when a woman dares to question the definition of (her)self. It was shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, and first performed by New Perspectives on tour of the UK in 2025.

Jane Upton is a playwright whose work includes: (the) Woman (New Perspectives / Royal& Derngate tour, 2025); The Price of Home (Paines Plough& Derby Theatre); Finding Nana (New Perspectives, 2017& 2018); All the Little Lights (George Devine Award, 2016; Fifth Word UK tour, 2017); Watching the Living, an adaptation of two Daphne du Maurier short stories (New Perspectives Theatre UK tour, 2014); Swimming (Menagerie Theatre Hotbed Festival, 2013/Soho/Edinburgh Festival, 2014); and Bones (Fifth Word, Edinburgh Festival/UK tour 2011-2012). She was the winner of the 2024 Adopt a Playwright Award run by Off West End Plays and Playwrights. Author photo by David Hammond

Scene One

A New Beginning (1)/Detonation

Calm. Peace. Dim warm lights come up on Min bed with a baby. She is perfectly made up, glowing from the inside of her sweet, rosy, motherly flesh and wearing a long, virginal white nightgown (like Maid Marian in the rape scene from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves).

Music starts to play.

M. Hello. Hi. Hi.

I’m your mummy.

Yes, I am. Yes, I am.

Music starts. Singing like Julie Andrews.