Nest - Young Vic

I hate to break it to you, Pars, but the only way having a child *isn't* a god-given right is if you can prove once and for all that there definitely is no god of any description.

And I definitely wouldn't bring my baby to it!

This is one of those rare shows that I like less upon reflection. This morning, I was ranting, 'Why put that on stage?' The script would be suitable for a small grim film (the play was originally German) - a microscopic look at a working class couple and the strains on their marriage when expecting their first child. At first, I thought this might be a satire on consumerism/capitalism. The play opens with the young woman unsuccessfully cold calling and, in what was probably the most interesting/unusual scene, the couple discuss in detail what they need to buy for the baby they are expecting. But then it just plods on and on. Yes, there is some clever staging when an allotment is created, yes, the scene change music is fine, the actors Caoilfhionn Dunne and Laurence Kinlan are committed and give naturalistic performances (though a long solo section is quite exposing of Kinlan and I was eager for that bit to reach its conclusion.)

I suppose I had been misled by the Babes in Arms performance, so thought this would something that parents might watch with in a fond, knowing 'haven't we all been through this' way but I can't think this would make parents feel anything but rotten. I didn't get quite the same message from it as Parlsey - the couple are firmly working class and struggling financially, so I don't think it's particularly aimed at the middle classes. And the begetting of the child didn't seem the difficulty for them. I think the takeaway message was something about money and the urge to provide for a family unbalancing a couple. I don't know, something like that.

It was well-attended last night. Last time I was in the Maria, it was to see 'Cuttin It' a far superior play that seemed to attract a smaller audience.

One hour forty five, no interval.

I was going to go because I enjoyed the previous Conor McPherson works I've seen(never been too excited by PJ Harvey's music, to be honest), but never got round to actually booking, it sounds like I haven't missed out on much by what I've read on here so far.

It's heartening, post the EU referendum, to see the premier theatre in the North of Ireland staging a modern German classic in a new version by a major Irish playwright.

I can't comment as I haven't seen it but I remember the original Bush production of The Nest, and an earlier production of Request Programme by Franz Xaver Kroetz. On both occasions, the audience was consciously paying rapt attention, eager not to miss the impact of a single word or movement.