(THE) WOMAN Comes to the Park Theatre

When a successful playwright swaps long writing sessions for snatched moments of peace, and wild nights out for evenings in with a newborn, she's left wondering how she's supposed to continue being a successful artist, wife, and friend while everything she knew has changed. The Bruntwood Prize shortlisted, metatheatrical play moves between M—burnt out, angry, lonely, craving intimacy but disengaged, and terrified of the future—and the plot of the play she's writing for her male producers. Sinking in exhaustion and self-doubt, M starts digging at the secrets of the system she's in; unpicking where she came from in an attempt to navigate this new version of herself. (the) Woman, is a funny and painful scream from the abyss of early motherhood.

Written by Jane Upton, (the) Woman is based on her experiences as a woman formed in the 90's losing herself in the transition from single woman to motherhood. It examines how becoming a parent changes a woman's currency (though she's told it shouldn't), the compromises she makes (whilst being told she can have it all) and the level of masking that happens (because talking about your children or your needs is ‘just not interesting').

Jane Upton said, “When I started writing (the) Woman I was in a really raw state of mind and early motherhood. The catalyst was an ex from school saying he expected more of me than having kids in our hometown. I wrote the play from such a state of honesty, rage and suffocation. It's pretty divisive so I was quite scared when it went out on tour. Scared and elated to have this chance to speak. It's been an intense experience so far. The play has opened up some really deep conversations. So many people have written to tell me how strongly they related – women and men. I'm so excited to see the play grow and gain momentum at the Park Theatre. It's such a great venue, consistently putting on such quality work and I can't wait to connect deeply with audiences again. There's so much to talk about here.”

Lizzy Watts stars as M, her recent credits include SHED: Exploded View (Manchester Royal Exchange) and Hedda Gabler (National Theatre). She is joined by Jamie-Rose Monk (Hansel and Gretel; Princess Essex; Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew at The Globe), Josh Goulding (Alone Together Theatre Royal Windsor; Hangmen on Broadway; The Price of Thomas Scott and Trainspotting Live off-Broadway) and André Squire (One Night in Miami, ABKCO Theater/Nottingham Playhouse).

(the) Woman is directed by New Perspectives' Artistic Director Angharad Jones who said, "Following a successful tour earlier this year, New Perspectives is proud to bring (the) Woman to London. What Jane has written is an intricately crafted, razor-sharp exploration of what it means to be a woman and more specifically a mother, capturing with honesty the emotional and physical toil required simply to exist in that space.

“The production also speaks to the ideas of home, identity, and how geography continues to shape artistic careers and the stories we tell. Rooted in Nottingham and developed in collaboration with artists across the UK, its arrival at Park Theatre is a celebration for regional theatre on a national stage. Like The Boss of It All, The Fishermen, and We Need New Names before it, (the) Woman reflects New Perspectives' commitment to championing original voices and creating space for urgent, unflinching work to thrive."

New Perspectives is the leading touring theatre company in the East Midlands with 50 years' experience of touring high-quality productions to venues of all sizes across the UK, from mid-scale theatres to village halls.  With a strong rural core, they create productions to fit spaces of any size in order to bring new work that is unexpected and thought-provoking to a wide range of audiences. New Perspectives co-produced with Fifth Word a tour of We Need New Names, based on the Booker Prize-nominated novel, and in Autumn the company undertook a major rural tour of Make Good – the Post Office Scandal Musical in a co-production with Pentabus, marking the Golden anniversary of each company. As Artistic Director/CEO since 2021, Angharad Jones has directed touring productions The Great Almighty Gill (Edinburgh Festival & UK Tour 2022), The Swearing Jar (rural/ Studio UK tour 2023) and Model Village (rural tour 2023), and a script-in-hand reading of Lucy Kirkwood's Maryland. New Perspectives run a talent development programme New Associates and with people who don't identify as artists to support them to tell their own story through their Open Pitch programme.