YOUR GUIDE TO EDINBURGH'S FESTIVALS
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ED2019 Preview Edition ED2019 Theatre ED2019 Three To See
Three To See 2019: Motherhood
By Caro Moses | Published on Friday 2 August 2019
ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses helps you navigate the Festival with her Three To See tips. This time three shows about motherhood.
With Child | Pleasance Courtyard | 31 Jul-25 Aug (pictured)
Yes, yes, more woman stuff, but it’s not my fault, I didn’t make it happen, it’s all there in the programme. It’s as though women have a lot of stuff to get off their chests lately, and if that’s why I keep finding loads of female-focused themes at the Fringe, then I’m happy to talk about it. Anyway, there are lots of shows with a pregnancy connection this time and here’s my first pick of them. In this solo show from Clare Pointing, inspired by society’s pressure on women to be maternal, kind, considerate individuals, we meet six different women, all pregnant: do we judge them differently because of their condition? Listing here.
30 | theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall | 19-24 Aug
“One room, one baby, thirty days. Naomi’s being tested for motherhood. If she passes, she can have a child, but her cousin failed six times and she’s feeling nervous. The voices of her invigilators play over the tannoy while she stands alone with a cloth doll. Through simulations, the doll becomes a real baby, which can see, hear and feel everything except pain”. This sounds rather dystopian, doesn’t it? And yet, I can’t help thinking I should have been forced to do this before I was allowed to reproduce. Just kidding, I’m a brilliant mother. A mother who’s telling you to do as you’re told, so go on, go see this show. Listing here.
Fox | Pleasance Courtyard | 31 Jul-26 Aug
This play by Katie Guicciardi, directed by Offie nominee Lisa Cagnacci, is about more than just motherhood, and is inspired by events in the life of the playwright. Contrasting the topic of post-partum depression with the subject of homelessness, ‘Fox’ explores how becoming a mother can change the way a woman perceives the world, and how the world perceives her. But it also explores issues surrounding class and gentrification, and seeing an area change around you. It sounds like a really poignant and insightful piece, addressing privilege and isolation in a contemporary, urban environment. Listing here.
