Play
A Child of Science
Three researchers try to make human fertilisation possible outside the body, while critics accuse them of playing God and the papers sensationalise their work.
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The story
Gareth Farr's play is a fictionalised account of the work that led Robert Edwards, Patrick Steptoe and Jean Purdy towards IVF. Edwards works on fertilising human eggs in the laboratory, obstetrician Steptoe develops laparoscopy and embryologist Purdy works alongside them, with the trials kept quiet. Running beside them is Margaret, a patient who stands for the many anonymous women in those trials, and her partner Trevor.
In the room
Spanning roughly twenty years from 1958, the play moves between London, Cambridge and Oldham in fast, episodic scenes, setting humour and satirical glimpses of period journalism against the clinical detail.
Good fit if you like
real-life science stories, Britain from the late 1950s to the 1970s, and drama that sets laboratory work beside the patients it depends on.
Details
- From 5 Jun 2024
Running time not recorded.
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Cast & crew
No cast or crew recorded yet.