Scary Biscuits Promotions Presents EGGSISTENTIALISM By Joanne Ryan

"I read somewhere that 10,000 of a woman's eggs die a day. I'll be lucky if I have enough left to make an omelette!"

Irish writer/performer, Joanne Ryan, makes her Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut with her funny, tender and moving play, Eggsistentialism.

Fresh from a critically acclaimed run in Ireland, Eggsistentialism is a comedic piece of new Irish writing; an autobiographical journey charting the madcap odyssey Irish writer/performer Joanne Ryan embarked upon whilst trying to decide whether or not to have a child in her final fertile years.

In Eggsistentialism, one modern woman goes on a comical quest to uncover the ifs, hows and crucially the whys of reproducing her genes. Thinking outside the box in an effort to decide what to do with her own, er, box, no stone is left unturned in this journey of extremes. Family, fertility experts, fortune tellers, daytime radio and the darkest recesses of the internet: all are consulted in the course of the show as she tries to figure out, should making a life for oneself involve making another?

With a playful, inventive approach to both text and form, Eggsistentialism tackles serious subjects like the social and personal implications of procreation, overpopulation and the endemic gender inequalities in parenting and childcare with a compelling personal anchor and light, comedic touch.

The multimedia show combines live elements of comedy, autobiography and testimony with projection, animation, documentary, soundscaping and original composition to form an exciting, energetic, fun and innovative theatre narrative.

There is no doubt that Joanne Ryan's subject is becoming ever more topical, with more and more men and women across the world facing the same predicament. Despite the constant social, cultural and even constitutional pressure on people to procreate, we are waiting longer and longer to start families and increasingly deciding that we don't need or want to have children at all. It is estimated that more than a fifth of young women in the UK today will never become mothers. In Japan, adult nappies now outsell baby nappies!

The play also shines a light on the wider societal structures of Ireland where Joanne grew up.

With support from Culture Ireland, Joanne Ryan brings her show outside of Ireland for the first time.

Eggsistentialism is a thoughtful, topical play, as hilarious as it is moving.

Tickets can be purchased here.

Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall

13:00

4-27 August

(not 9, 14, 22)

0131 560 1580

www.summerhall.co.uk

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