Labours of Love

The production of Labours of Love was devised by Ren Forteath, who is an NHS Midwife and who is also an accomplished actor. Through her knowledge of her work environment and her theatrical expertise she has created this musical piece depicting the lives and stories of what takes place in a Maternity Ward along with the experiences of the staff and families who are involved. This show is not for the faint hearted as it covers all the different trials and tribulations that take place and some of it is hard hitting with a whole gambit of emotions experienced throughout the production. I found some of the subject matter quite difficult to listen to and to watch, but must say it was all dealt with superbly.

Labours of Love was played in a Church Hall with a small stage, and the scene changes were all carried out swiftly and with the confines of the area, very efficiently. There were a couple of minor issues with the sound system but it did not detract from the running of the show and everything that happened on stage was heard clearly.

The music in this show is very tuneful with some catchy songs well written by Ren and her father who was the MD and the show opens with a couple of catchy numbers that the whole cast are involved in. This effectively sets the scene for what we are about to witness.

The build-up of the show throughout Act One takes the form of a small number of separate scenes which eventually are all integrated into the running of the Maternity Ward and we see how these different scenarios play out as the show progresses.

We start off in Judy’s house where she is patiently waiting for a test to show whether she is pregnant or not. Tess Harper sings this “5 Minutes” so well. She is a young girl with a big future as far as the stage is concerned and she handled all of the subject matter so professionally. A couple of scenes further on we find Judy at the hospital waiting room and her partner, played by Ruari McCormack and she have an argument when he decides that he can’t cope and be there to support her through her pregnancy, leaving her on her own to deal with it all.

We also see Annie Woods and her husband Ross excellently played by Lara Anderson and Colin Williamson taking the birth of their child in their stride and we hear Lara sing the wonderful “In the Morning”

In another scene we see Chrissie and Jim, who are both uptight about her pregnancy as it is obvious from her song “Empty Arms” that her previous pregnancy did not go well and she is concerned that the same might happen again making her more anxious for the near future. Sahar El-Hady who played Chrissie portrayed the differing emotions running through these scenes brilliantly and complemented her vocals wonderfully well.

In between all of these scenarios we see the interaction amongst the staff in the Maternity Ward during hand over periods, rest room chat and case meetings. These included Sharron Harper, Megan Forteath, Sharon Rossi, Karen McMeeken, and Erin Watt. Ruth, A student midwife excellently played by Erin Watt, is not sure if this is what she wants and is frustrated by the attitude of patients who “Have got it so Easy” compared to less fortunate parts of the world. She provides some statistics to evidence the conditions, particularly in Uganda where women might have to walk for days to get to a hospital to give birth.  She quiet likes Dr Nick, who also fancies her but neither makes a move until Robyn acts as matchmaker. We also see the breakdown of the marriage of Mhairi, one of the midwives (Holly Titcombe) and her husband Dr John (Cael Scott) with an expose when Mhairi reveals to Ruth that she was not away at a conference but for an illicit weekend and is overheard by her husband, which brings Act One to a close.

Act Two opens with a bang and we hear buzzers sounding which interspersed with the opening music and the curtain opening emphasises the urgency with staff all being fully involved in desperately working to save both a mother and new born child. The music and the tension in this opening scene were very emotional and it was excellently performed and portrayed the organised chaos that takes place and the song “When the Buzzer Sounds” explained in detail the technicalities that need to happen. Sharron Harper who played Midwife Alice and Ruth (Erin Watt) played this scene with raw emotion which was felt by the audience and for me whilst I was engrossed with this scene, definitely benefitted from the glossary of technical terminology that was included in the programme..

We discover that Judy has lost her baby and the emotion that Tess Harper produced was palpable and in your face.  She is going to be left to deal with this but has her mother well played by Rose Tennick to support her going forward. This was I would say the hardest to watch scene in the whole production but it was so delicately dealt with.

We also find Chrissie has had her baby and her “Heartbeat” and “Softly Lullaby” expresses the love she has for the new infant and what she can look forward to in the future.

Then to lighten the mood we have a more light hearted birthing with Lara Anderson as Rachel and Ren Forteath playing her birth partner deciding that she doesn’t want a conventional birth but would prefer a birthing pool instead.

And then to lighten the mood even more we find Barry and Freida Potter (Colin Williamson and Sharon Rossi) appearing with a scene which is in your face and akin to a Victoria Woods “Lets do It”. This scene was slick and had more that a bit of comedic timing and verbal dexterity.

As in the first Act we see the interactions between the members of staff in the Ward. Ruth and Dr Nick have become a couple and considering whether they will stay in a maternity ward or possibly go work abroad. Their duet “Every Single Day” was very well sung and expressed their thought and self-doubts.  Mhairi and her husband John have gone their separate ways, and the remainder of the ward staff are getting on with what they do best.

Other supporting members of the cast, Stig Nordkill, Rose Tennick, Sharron Harper, Megan Forteath, Karen McMeekin were all vital components of the show and all played their own parts excellently. I was impressed with the way the whole cast worked together and it goes down to the good Direction of the Director and the Musical Director to get this most difficult subject matter put over to the audience with such brilliant performers.

Ending the show is a Ugandan song “Lutalo” meaning childbirth, which the whole cast performed. It has a definite African flavour to it and was a good way to end the performance.

I have to say that overall, I enjoyed this production even though there were times during the performance where I felt uncomfortable due to the graphic description etc of some of the subject matter. A very well performed and directed show. Congratulations and well done to the whole cast.

 

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