Yerma
Yerma, written by Simon Stone (2016), is a modernised adaptation of Federico García Lorca's Yerma written in 1934 on the eve of the spanish civil war.
Stone's adaptation depicts the relationship between two characters, Her (played by Billie Piper) and John (played by Brendan Cowell). Throughout the play the audience see how the pairs relationship develops and overtime worsens as they attempt to have a child of their own. During the play we see attempts, mainly from John, to save their relationship for example their marriage and him continuously giving sperm and paying money for IVF. However all was in vein as at the culmination of the play we see Her's spiral of mental health and how not being able to have a child has driven her close to insanity. inevitably leading to John selling the house to prevent going broke and leaving Her. The play ends with Her in a state of despair and frustration, and from this she takes her own life. the play explores themes of mental health, and its deterioration, desperation, and love and hatred.
The director aimed to create an intense, raw and psychologically-driven performance using naturalistic acting within a minimal, stylised set – drawing from both Stanislavski's system and elements of contemporary theatre to heighten emotional realism and audience connection. . By placing Yerma in a transparent glass box, the director aimed to symbolize the character's growing sense of entrapment and isolation, while also allowing the audience to observe her life as if in her head.
Billie piper and Brendan Cowell both expertally used vocal and physical skills such as the low whispers and guttural screams and sensual touch in order to successfully create a raw and emotionally heightened relationship to masterfully portray the themes of motherhood and desperation.
Yerma is a naturalistic piece that uses moments of contemporary theatre such as a minimalistic set and by framing the piece in a glass box. the play is a tragedy as indicated by the suicide of Her at the end of the piece
i felt that both main characters were superb at portraying what initially appeared to be such a happy and 'normal' life. and then from this spiralling into the end of the relationship and showing how overtime there relationship crumbled. i thought that the themes of motherhood, obsession etc were extremely successful in there presentation during the piece and that the rawness of the piece created a disorey of emotions from disgust to hatred to happiness
In an interview Stone says that he was prompted to revisit 'Yerma'. Despite having read it before, it was only then that they realized he had more to say about the play. Set in 1930s Spain, the play's themes about a woman's need to prove her womanhood through child - bearing seem to translate well into the contemporary secular world. The modern - day adaptation features a successful woman who, after achieving milestones like home - ownership, faces the challenge of infertility. This inability to get pregnant consumes her and leads to the breakdown of her relationship
It also explores the internal conflict within a liberated woman. Even in a society that promotes equality, a woman may still feel the biological and societal pressure to have children. Stone believes that this is a universal struggle that many can relate to, regardless of whether they have experienced infertility firsthand. The play, though not light in content, aims to emotionally move the audience.
Within this interview he stated that the key points within his TDI consist of infertility within women, social pressures, relationships and deterioration of mental health.
After watching Yerma on Drama Online I felt that these themes were thoroughly explored and successfully portrayed within the piece through the emotional and Heartbreaking relationship between John and Her. Throughout the piece I felt a rollercoaster of emotions. I felt disgusted by Her's actions towards the end of the play but in the final moments of the piece I truly understood the struggle and desperation she was going through leading me to feel pitiful towards her. I felt that at points John could have tried harder but there wasn't much more he could do to sustain the relationship (other than cheat on her).