America is divided on abortion. On stage in New York, actress Alison Leiby made the public laugh from her own experience to break taboos and defend this fundamental right.
The subject is delicate, as abortion is not a small task for a woman and can prove to be a painful experience.
But on the boards of the Cherry Lane Theater, in Greenwich Village, we prefer to make fun of the adventures of a brunette in her thirties, with glowing eyes behind her mirror, author and performer of Oh God, A Show About Abortionrepresenting My God, a show about abortion.
With a large dose of self-mockery, Alison Leiby describes herself as a New York anti-heroine, far from any dream of motherhood, she who considers herself incapable of fulfilling her budget or planting a plant.
The audience, who were mostly women, burst out laughing at the story of her pregnancy test, as positive as the COVID test after marriage in Florida. Or her confusion when, at the clinic where she is having an abortion, it is a question of hearing the possible heartbeat of the fetus, or of trying to find out if they are twins.
But most of all, Alison Leiby tries to ignore things: her intervention went well, the days that followed as well, without discomfort or guilt.
In popular culture, fiction or documentaries, I have never heard of my abortion, which is something incredibly common, not traumatic, somehow when it is allowed.told AFP the 38-year-old actress in her dressing room.
I want to make you laughbut I also want to help people start talking about something difficulthe continued, aware that there was lucky enough to be a white, heterosexual, cisgender woman living in a state where abortion is legal.
The leak, on the night of May 2, of the draft decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which is willing to repeal the right to abortion, has opened up a country’s prospect of being cut in two on the question. It gave more meaning, for me, to playing this show. It’s more politicalsaid Alison Leiby.
A show that attracts stars
The preview saw moving stars like the actress Sex and the CityCynthia Nixon, or the director of use, Anna Wintour. A few days ago, the presentation was followed by a Q&A with Center for Reproductive Rights President Nancy Northup.
This show is great, because it discusses the stigma of abortionsaid this activist to the AFP. He puts humanity here and at the same time, in the end, the sense of urgency that we need to talk about it more.she explains, noting that one in four American women undergoes an abortion during her lifetime.
Alison Leiby also discusses – and in a crude way – other questions that are still shrouded in taboos, such as sex education, contraception, menstrual cramps and discomfort – more than 2,000 days into a life, or six years, she calculated on stage – the heartache at the idea of being pregnant and, above all, the difficulty in assuming herself as a woman unwilling to have children.
Themes that speak to the public. I don’t want to have a child of my own […], I focused on my career. But at the same time, we all go through this stage where we wonder if we are not getting older. to give birth, says Briana Gio, a 30 -year -old social worker, after a performance.
And people will tell you “you’ll regret it for the rest of your life”added the young woman, who grew up in Oklahoma, a state that passed a law banning abortion.
Alison Leiby is torn about embarking on a tour and exiting the more liberal lands of New York. I want to dedicate this show to a different audience. I received messages: “come to Kentucky, go to West Virginia”. But those who want to end abortion are very active, very involved, in a way that pretty scary to me.he admits.
In New York, his solo show was extended until June 30.
Radio Canada
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
