In the last three and a half decades, more than five million children have been conceived via in vitro fertilisation. Yet while the use of IVF nowadays is relatively unremarkable, its early years were clouded with controversy. Now, that social uproar will be covered in detail, in an ambitious new Melbourne Theatre Company production opening May 15.
The Waiting Room is the latest creation from playwright Kylie Trounson, whose own father spearheaded groundbreaking fertility research at Monash University at a time when so-called test tube babies seemed like something out of science fiction. Both Kylie and her father feature as characters in the play, which chronicles Dr. Trounson's breakthrough and the resulting (and divided) public reaction. Juxtaposed with the moral furore is the story of a woman going through IVF treatment in both the 1970s and today.
The play will be performed at the Arts Centre, and is directed by Naomi Edwards, who was part of the MTC Women Directors' Program in 2014.