Unearthed. ~ 18.03.2018

'What is it, to be a woman in the 21st century?' 

What a bloody question! 

Unearthed. Discovering the 21st Century Female discussed just that, through various art forms and performance mediums on Sunday 18th March at Constellations, Liverpool. 

I had the pleasure of being apart of this project. I decided to condense my own play, Pill, an exploration of the contraceptive pill and it's side effects, into a ten minute monologue style performance and perform it myself. 

At the start of 2018, knowing that this would be the second year I would work on Pill as a play, I told myself I would take the next step, which would be to perform it in front of an audience. In my mind's eye, I saw the Edinburgh Fringe or even the Manchester Fringe with it being on my doorstep. But truth be told, my creative momentum towards performing Pill was pushed to one side. 

In the last month, I have done everything but sit down and put plans in place to perform, Pill. I didn't beat myself up for it, but I do believe it was down to the lack of belief in my own writing. The passion for the subject matter, however, was still very much there. 

So when Vivian and Natasha, who put Unearthed. together, put the message out about the project, I jumped at the chance!

I knew that this would tell me whether the piece was worth pursuing further, or to put it plainly: whether it was any good?

Every time I performed it in the run through's prior to the night, I wasn't really nervous, I was more bothered about speaking the words I had written, informing people of a topic that is frequently dismissed in more ways than one and most importantly, sharing my experience. But I realised that something was going to come of this performance, as feedback from the other girls taking part had already begun to excel my expectations. 

Sunday came, the doors opened and in the audience came. An air of positivity and encouragement filled the room which allowed the performers to feel supported, knowing that this was a safe space to speak. 

The adrenalin started to kick in and I struggled to sit still, knowing that my boyfriend, best friend and best friend's boyfriend were among the crowd. 

Before I go into detail of my own piece, I'll take this moment to express the courage and honesty shared amongst the night's creatives. They truly empowered others and my admiration for them was and is so great!

But now the time had come for me to begin, and there was a moment of, "OH F*CK, AM I ACTUALLY DOING THIS?!" 

Never in a million years did I think I would ever find an ability to write, let alone a play. 

Never in a million years did I think I could create something that related to so many. 

Never in a million years did I think people would laugh, cry, cheer, empathise, feel empowered or inspired. 

From the moment I started to the moment I finished, I knew that I'd walked that journey hand in hand with the audience.

Surreal. Completely surreal!

To anyone who watched, came and spoke to me afterwards, messaged me, whatever - thank you! From the bottom of my heart, because you have given me belief and the fire in my belly has grown! 

If in a corner of Liverpool, in a warehouse filled with 70 odd people, Pill can get a response such as the one it had on Sunday, then the possibilities are endless to what this performance can do. 

I feel proud, that I can use my experience, a pretty bad experience, to inform others, to give women and men the ability to ask questions about what they put into their body and feel comfort in knowing they are not alone. 

Here's to the future of this piece! 

Photography: Alia Rose 
18.03.2018