Review: Procreate by Bethan Screen – Alma Tavern Theatre

Warm and funny piece of theatre with strong messages in surreal moments

Procreate, by Bethan Screen, is a show about having babies. It explores the impact of this on women’s careers with particular reference to theatre makers and creatives.

The show has a very surreal start, building the tension to draw parallels between giving birth and the birth of creativity when devising theatre.

As Screen desperately hunts out crying babies, it feels like a post-natal fever dream. The haze which usually descends at 4am in the days and early weeks of having a baby. A time full of new confusing things to learn and an avalanche of piles of baby equipment. Then there’s the overwhelm and confusion when a baby wakes throughout the night for a feed.

Through clowning, we are taken through these moments. There’s juggling with real eggs, trying to multitask without dropping the ball. Some end up smashed on the stage like the carnage and chaos that descends on your new life. It’s especially hard for freelancers, those who work anti-social hours and those who tour.

Growling vintage Baby Bjorn ads play with their saccharine tinkly music and soft voices. It feels a bit Jam TV series from the 2000s. It’s nightmarish. They sell a false idea of motherhood that’s pushed onto little girls from a young age, entrenching gender stereotypes from birth.

One such doll is puppeteered and speaks in a soft child’s voice. Not even born yet but questioning the motives of bringing new life into a world that is full of war, destruction and climate change.

Audience members are treated like babies to be cared for. Again it’s both disturbing and funny when taken out of context.

Voice overs relay perspectives from different parents as well as advice they would have given to their younger selves.

The light touch and comedic approach of the show means that the heavier aspects, the existential crisis, the political issues don’t feel heavy or out of place.

They remain pithy observations and left for the audience to mull over.

One stand-out section occurs when Screen goes on a Mums’ Night Out. Here we get some mighty fine drunk best friend acting. Shouting over the club level music, clutching a can of wine, dancing to the beat whilst invading personal space is spot on. Here we learn facts around the disparity in pay between men and women once they have a baby. It’s a clever and slick piece of theatre.

A second stand-out moment was a parody of Mama by the Spice Girls. The on-screen backing singers becoming particularly caustic and undermining as the music progressed.

Procreate was a warm and funny piece of theatre, accurately poking at the difficulties new mums face trying to bring their life and career to order at one of the most challenging times possible.

My difficult to please 14 -year-old thought it hilarious, which is about the highest praise one can achieve.

For more about Bethan Screen, visit: https://www.bethanscreen.com/

For what’s coming up at the Alma Tavern Theatre, visit: https://www.almatavernandtheatre.co.uk/

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