Yerma

YERMA

FEMININE OF THE ADJECTIVE YERMOS - "BARREN"

On Drama Online Library, I watched the National Theatre's 2017 production of Yerma, directed and written by Simon Stone and starring Billie Piper. It is an adaptation of a play of the same name written in 1934 by Federico García Lorca. In both, the story focuses on a childless woman whose desperate desire to have a child becomes an obsession that drives her to destroy her life.

In this production, we focus on the couple of Her (Billie Piper) and John (Brendan Cowell) who have just moved into a house in London. It is interesting that Billie Piper's character is not even given the name of Yerma, and is instead just called 'Her' which seems to highlight how universal the situation of infertility is. We then follow their story and how their relationship changes and eventually deteriorates as the desire for a child becomes suffocating. It starts small but soon snowballs and becomes the driving force in their relationship, losing the playfulness and love we are shown in their first scene. John, in attempt to save what they once had, marries Her and even donates sperm and funds IVF but it only ends up delaying the inevitable. Her, becoming fully consumed by this imaginary child that she cannot have, completely degrades her mental health as well as her relationship with John, passing the point of no return in both. This leads to John leaving Her and selling the house, the place where the whole play has unfolded. Her, completely ruined by this point, reacts violently to this news by threatening John with a knife. After John escapes, and in her despair and anger she turns the knife on herself, stabbing and killing what has caused her all of this pain.

In Yerma, the play explores the theme of the societal pressure on women to produce children as their 'purpose', even when they may be incapable. It then subsequently looks into the huge impact it has on these women and how it ends up destroying their happiness; their relationships with family, friends and lovers; and even their lives. From this, the play also looks into the themes of women's mental health and catholicism with the 'confessional' style blogs Her writes about the life she lives and how over time we see this idea of a child root itself within her. 

The relationships in this play on the surface may seem quite sexual, which between Her and John is certainly the case, but this is used to show the closeness and love they have for one another, able to be quite comfortable with one another in the opening scene. This is integral as from her we see the separation play out in real time as John becomes less and less committed to the idea of having a child whereas Her becomes more and more obsessed. From here the distance between them grows with John repeatedly trying to pull Her back but eventually running out of stamina and money as Her's obsession becomes an addiction. The contrast between who they are and how they are with each other between the first and last scene is stark. The once playful, sexual and close couple are now broken, both emotionally and mentally respectively, and completely separate from one another.

Simon Stone directed this piece, and it is an debate whether or not this is merely an adaptation or reimagining of Lorca's original play. The script was written just weeks before the first performance according to Billie Piper, and came about from month long workshopping sessions with the cast. Stone made a point of wanting each performance to be unique, and so very little staging was confirmed during the rehearsal period. This paired with the almost hyper-naturalistic acting led for an incredibly immersive and palpable connection between character and audience. The play draws on raw, visceral emotion and can be psychologically draining on an audience as the play leaves you tense for the entirety of its runthrough. The set is minimal, being set in a transparent box with a natural but empty scenes inside representing the unfurnished house and the garden. This box acts as a representation for the isolation and entrapment Her feels by the pressure of having a child, with the audience surrounding the box acting as omniscience and omnipresent observers, judging her and her actions for not having a child.

Billie Piper and Brendan Cowell are excellent as Her and John respectively, with Piper especially stealing the show. Her physicality throughout makes us feel the yearning she has for this child and her moments of guttural screeches and banshee-like fury make the audience feel uncomfortable in the best possible way.

Yerma is this blend of naturalistic theatre, with contemporary and liturgical emmenating throughout drawing on the past and present to create this frighteningly real piece of theatre. In every sense of the word it is a tragedy, however it hurts so much more to look at as an audience member in its contemporary setting as this is current reflection as society as it stands today, and the damage it unnecessarily causes.