Review: GENESIS INC, Hampstead Theatre

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first test tube baby, and Jemma Kennedy's new play at The Hampstead Theatre, Genesis Inc., centres around a group of people seeking the much sought after (and costly) help of one of the leading experts in fertility.

There are so many threads and plot lines in the production it's hard to know where to begin. Thirtysomething married couple Serena (Ritu Arya) and Jeff (Oliver Alvin-Wilson) are having difficulty conceiving, so visit Genesis Inc. where fertility expert Dr Marshall (Harry Enfield) convinces them to have another go, despite Jeff's concerns that they'll have a hard time affording it.

Serena is obsessed with having a child - all she wants is to create something that she can love unconditionally. She hates the fact that Jeff already has a daughter from a previous relationship, something she frequently taunts him about. It becomes clear that she'll do anything to achieve her dream, even if it means going solo and leaving her husband behind. It's hard to watch the disintegration of a loving marriage, but Serena cares about nothing else.

Next we meet best friends Bridget (Laura Howard) and Miles (Arthur Darvill) - she's a high-flying banker who had her eggs frozen at the clinic, and he's a half-Jewish gay man who works as a music teacher at a Roman Catholic school. She's worked hard for her career and is worried that now it might be too late for her to have a child. Miles, on the other hand, is struggling to scrape together enough money to get a deposit for a house.

The production has some very surreal fantasy scenes involving a talking womb and ovaries, a disco dance number during IVF treatment, the Old Testament's Abraham and Sarah, and an appearance by Karl Marx (Enfield). It detracts from the sadness the audience should be feeling for Serena and Bridget as they try to determine if they can cope with the stress of fertility treatment.

There are so many themes covered that it becomes slightly chaotic. Aside from fertility and the insatiable need to conceive a child, it also looks at race, gender, domestic abuse, sexual orientation, class, the difficulty of the average working person to get on the property ladder in London, how varying incomes can impact long-term friendships, and the greediness of medical companies and the struggle the NHS has to keep up with the demand for free IVF treatment.

The set, designed by Jess Curtis, is neat - changing from a clinical doctor's reception area filled with TV screens, to a bedroom, a kitchen and a hospital. The cast of nine work hard to try and make the set changes as fluid as possible.

Although the writing is often clumsy, the cast do their best with the material they have. Shobu Kapoor is understanding and loving as Serena's mum, and steals the scenes she's in, Darvill is funny and endearing (the play also gives him the opportunity to showcase his musical talents), and Howard is brilliant as the career-driven Bridget.

It's a shame that more is not made of the brilliant Clare Perkins, who plays Sharon, the working-class mother trapped in an abusive relationship.

The play has a number of twists and turns, and it was surprising to see how all of the characters eventually became intertwined. While I admire Kennedy for trying to fit so much into a two hour and 40 minute production, it ultimately feels disjointed and messy.

Genesis Inc. at Hampstead Theatre until 28 July

Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan

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