Reviews

Firing Blanks

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11 August 2010

On a bench by a duck pond, Richard reveals to Kate, a stranger, that he’s infertile.

So begins an unlikely friendship, as free-spirited Kate (Holly Beasley Garrigan) helps crisis-hit Richard (Robin McLoughlin) to decide whether he and his wife should use a donor. He fears it’ll undermine his status as a father, and acts out a series of nightmare scenarios – from the child discovering the truth of its parentage to later using it against him.

The core theme of this tidy if slightly predictable new play by Tom Spencer is an exploration of modern masculinity – whether the onset of donors, IVF and adoption calls into question a man’s basic function. “Women always say men are only good for one thing – well I’m not even good for that”, as Richard surmises it.

But the message is one of hope, that of course the most functional of families can be founded in the wake of infertility. And there’s a fitting nod to the men who donate the sperm – it’s news to me that we no longer give money to those who do in this country.