Co. Physical Theatre’s stated aim is “to create theatre which is extraordinarily physical, hilarious, poignant and intensely visual.” 

A worthy aim, and one that might well be espoused by all who make live theatre. Co. Physical Theatre unquestionably scores a big tick for each aspiration with, perhaps, a minor and somewhat reserved hmmm when it comes to poignancy. 

From the moment we entered the TAPAC theatre, surely one of the best spaces around, the energy of the artists was palpable. We were seated, then re-seated, by attractive people in medical garb with an eagerness and garrulousness that was almost irresistible. Almost.

It was also almost too much, but that’s where this show is pitched. At the edge of too big and too much. Therein lies its attraction, and therein lies its one wee flaw.

Cast with multi-talented wunderkind – they walk, talk, sing, cry, do back flips and dangle from the roof – Oh Baby was always going to be both good and different. It’s a riotous romp through conception and childbirth seen through the lens of an upmarket fertility clinic where the professionals serve each other as much as they seem to serve the outside world.   

The delicious Dr. Roche (Debbie Newby) is in the throws of giving birth but has a few things she needs to see to first (she runs the masturbatorium) before she runs out of time. Her journey from the breaking of the waters to the appearance of progeny is a riot of pain and anxiety (most of it ours thanks to her clever creation). Her daffy but well intentioned hubby Guy (Jeremy Birchall) reflects the uselessness of the Mere Male in the childbirth scenario with touching ineptness and sincerity. These two play the broadest of delightful comedy almost to the edge of clown with subtlety and joy. 

Beth Kayes plays Susanna “I’m an obstetrician” Sewell in a darker hue, an older woman whose biological clock can be heard ticking from miles away. Kayes torment at not being able to conceive adds a layer to the work that opens up a space in all of us that we would rather not visit. Clever stuff, this. 

Mike Edward (psychiatrist Dr Freeman) has a physicality most men would die for and some possibly have. He also has a sperm count that makes fertility clinicians go weak at the knees (well, in the show he does) and as such he’s rather in demand. It’s all in a day’s work for Dr Freeman until he finds that the ex he cheated on (played by the wonderful Eve Gordon) is also on the team. The sensitivity of their first meeting is a highlight and I am still wondering how both actor and character survived the ‘intimacy’ of the confrontation!

Probably the most important character in the piece is Errol, played with delicacy by Paul MacDiarmid. Errol is the lowest ranked in the professional food chain and successfully acts as a foil for each of the characters in turn. Unattached emotionally, he is able to reflect much of what remains otherwise hidden in this devised work. Poignancy.

There’s not a lot of time or space for poignancy as this vivid work zips along at a million miles an hour. It doesn’t have to be quite so manic as plot and characters are deeply drawn and taking time to let some carefully chosen moments breathe might be a sound option should Oh Baby be re-worked, but there are moments already and these all belong to Dr Verity (Eve Gordon) who is much, much more than an aerialist and acrobat in this work. She is left to portray the agony of the cheated-on partner of Dr Freeman and she does this by transcending her actor’s expertise in a way that tore our hearts out. This was great work sourced from a raw and bruised centre, all the more impressive as it is surrounded by mayhem and chaos (organised, of course).

Co. Physical Theatre, the brainchild of Beth Kayes, brings an immediacy and professionalism to the theatre landscape that is much needed and a creativity that we should all cherish.

Post Script: my eight year old son thought it was great and has been empowered to ask all those impossible childbirth questions that parents wish to avoid. Thanks for that (I think).