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What is with Amy Molloy and plays set in waiting rooms? This is the second play where she plays a woman in an abstract waiting room space, distraught over an emotional upheaval. In Cyprus Avenue it was over the death of her infant baby, this time it was decision to have an abortion, rather than carry the baby to term. See her star in Cotton Fingers, a one-woman play set in Belfast, around Aoife, recounting the experience of her getting an abortion in Cardiff, Wales. The story becomes even more harrowing when we learn that a beloved aunt also had an abortion many years previously, which had disastrous effects on the rest of her life.
In the play she explains her decision to travel to Wales, rather than England, for an abortion. Aoife cannot get an abortion in Northern Ireland because it is illegal. Having the baby is not an option either, as the relationship she is currently in is not secure. Through coarse and humorous language, the relationship is described; the sex is mediocre and the boyfriend is unimpressive. Cillian however does make a good cheese toastie though, and that’s ‘what got her into the mess in the first place. That extra half an hour in bed really wasn’t worth it.’ Aoife doesn’t want to go to England, because everyone knows what ‘going to England for the weekend’ means. Nobody thinks the same about Wales.
Aoife’s determination to get an abortion is adamant. The reasons for this become apparent throughout the course of the show. Her aunt had an abortion years ago, and had borrowed money from a loan shark to do so. The loan shark became violent and abusive when the aunt could not repay the money fast enough. We are told she committed suicide, and Aoife’s mother avoids saying her name for years after. Aoife’s sister Lauren also became pregnant unexpectedly but instead chose to keep the babies. She suffers from clinical depression though and can not adequately take care of the children, because she is unable to get out of bed, even to walk the ‘wains’ to school. Aoife has decided that she is not going to bring up a child in this environment, even though she has opportunities through her job in the local Omniplex.
The production is heartfelt and tender, with excellent acting, and under good leadership from Julia Thomas, especially with only Amy onstage for the entire eighty minutes. The script, written by Rachel Trezise, was both simultaneously heart wrenching, and hilarious. The different scenes take place out of sequence, thereby, making each monologue about the decision to have the abortion and the details of the abortion itself even more difficult to process. The language is written in the vernacular of Catholic Belfast, torn apart by the Troubles, which is surmised neatly in the performer’s desperation to ‘get off the estate’.
The set design was minimal, by Carl Davies, with only a doctor’s waiting room style row of chairs which were bolted together to form a bench that became different pieces of furniture when needed; a car, a pool and a bed. A beautiful aspect of the design was the polystyrene snow on the floor. It wasn’t entirely necessary, as snow was only alluded to in one scene, but throughout the show, Molly’s footprints and the tracks from the bench being moved throughout the space created big track marks in it. By the end of the show, the once-pristine floor of the pre-set was messy and destroyed, creating a gorgeous visual metaphor for the entire show.
This show is not an easy watch, nor should it be, given the subject matter, but it is enjoyable, and that is just as important.
This show was funded by The National Theatre of Wales, and is touring Ireland and Wales before performing in Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
