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Overview
Synopsis
Simon Stone’s modern adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s play, Yerma, tells the story of an unnamed woman (‘Her’) who finds herself unable to have a child with her husband, John. The action takes place in a glass box which predominantly represents the couple’s new and big, empty London house, as well as other places. The audience therefore watch the action through the glass walls, experiencing the social expectation that couples become parents and the pitying response when they fail to conceive. ‘Her’ writes a blog about her struggles to have a child, in which she details every intimate, confessional detail about her resentment of her pregnant sister and John’s failure to make a baby with her. After 12 failed attempts at IVF, losing her job, and her marriage, she is driven to the very edge of her mental health and, ultimately, falls.
Stone's contemporary portrayal of Yerma presents a powerfully devastating portrayal of a woman in her late thirties, desperate to conceive the child she thought she never wanted.
Show Information
- Book
- Simon Stone
- Conceived By
- Frederico Garcia Lorca
- Based on the Play/Book/Film
- Federico Garcia Lorca's Yerma
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Mature Audiences (M)
- Number of Acts
- 3
- First Produced
- 2016
- Genres
- Drama, Tragedy
- Settings
- Contemporary, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- London, Present Day
- Cast Size
- small
- Ideal For
- Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast, Star Vehicle Female, Mostly Female Cast, Includes Adult, Young Adult, Mature Adult Characters
Context
Simon Stone’s adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s tragedy, Yerma, premiered at the Young Vic in July 2016 and starred Billie Piper in the lead role. The production won Best Revival of a Play at the 2017 Olivier Awards and Piper won the award for Best Actress. She also won the Evening Standard Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress. It returned for a second run from July to August 2017 with two live broadcasts to cinemas in the UK and abroad. Billie Piper transferred with the show to New
to read the context for Yerma and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
John and ‘Her’ are at home, drinking champagne and gently bickering about whether they are becoming bourgeois middle class. They have just bought a house, which goes against their left-wing socialist ideologies. Changing the subject, ‘Her’ questions John about why he rarely wants to have sex with her. She asks him to cut down on his porn consumption, especially as she’s been having a change of heart about trying for a baby (which also goes against her left-wing, independent, feminist views).
to read the plot for Yerma and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher