The Spilling Cup
★★★★☆ Bloody lovely
theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall (Venue 53): Mon 19 – Sat 24 Aug 2024
Review by Rebecca Mahar
“Hey, little uterus, can we work together?”
Sasha’s plea to her capricious organ in Dracume Theatre’s The Spilling Cup will be a familiar sentiment to anyone who’s ever dealt with having one, and especially to those who, like her, are plagued by undiagnosed medical issues of the reproductive system.
A glimpse into one woman’s struggle with menstrual extremes and intractable pain, The Spilling Cup gives voice to all those suffering in silence, fighting against a medical system that is not designed to give them the care they need, and deserve.
Hannah Mary Taylor in The Spilling Cup. Pic: Dracume.
Played with at times stomach-clenching convincingness by Hannah Mary Taylor, Sasha opens a window into her life, allowing the audience to observe both her daily struggles and her battles with the medical system, fighting to get a diagnosis for whatever is wrong with her – and to let herself believe that something is wrong, that she’s not simply weak for not being able to endure “ordinary” period symptoms.
Here The Spilling Cup also highlights the disadvantage that people who menstruate can be placed in if not given an adequate education about their own bodies: for much of the play, Sasha is convinced, and has her misconceptions reinforced by doctors, that what she’s experiencing is normal.
Squinting into the harsh spotlight of a medical office, Taylor squirms and winces her way through Sasha’s trans-vaginal ultrasound, performed by a male physician who makes small talk about ice cream and the weather while inserting a probe into her body, then declares that “everything looks normal and healthy” and offers no help for her debilitating symptoms.
beacon of understanding
Both a castigation of the current state of reproductive healthcare and a beacon of understanding and solidarity for those who live with similar conditions to Sasha, The Spilling Cup takes up space boldly and un-euphemistically, speaking about menstruation and its associated problems in a way that is candid without being gimmicky.
Taylor’s delivery of the monodrama, written by Noémie Galante and directed by James Wood, is thoroughly honest, and earns almost every silence it employs.
Sprinkled with comedy – because sometimes all you can do is laugh – The Spilling Cup brings heart and hope to a painful subject.
Running time: 50 minutes (no interval)
theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall (Stephenson Theatre), Nicolson Street EH8 9DW (Venue 53)
Monday 19 – Saturday 24 August 2024
Daily: 3.05pm
Details and tickets at: Book here
Instagram: @dracumetheatre
Instagram: @the_spilling_cup_fringe24
ENDS
