The title ‘Funny, Like an Abortion’ is provocative and thought-provoking, encapsulating the play’s dark humor and serious subject matter. It’s a play that uses humor to shed light on the dire state of women’s health and the issues surrounding abortion rights.
Playwright Rachel Bublitz was visiting Austin on the Opening Night of her play about the dire state of women’s health across the bleeding red states. These states, which have denied women the right to an abortion, are causing devastating aftereffects. The play’s relevance to current social issues is striking, engaging the audience in a vital conversation.
The play features two leading actors: girlfriends in an apartment in the dystopian near future. They live in a world where a device records every movement, sound, and breath and then blasts advertisements all day and night long. These recording all-seeing devices are placed in the apartments of the female population to monitor their sexual activity and ultimately put them to death if they even dare try to get an abortion. The characters’ bravery in the face of such a regime is truly admirable.
Monroe, the pregnant 20-something gal, holds a faux party with numbered presents and asks her girlfriend Jade to open and examine which of these items can be used in a self-induced pregnancy. Jade is horrified at the items and realizes her friend is blatantly ignorant, who indeed seems to have zero clue about the deleterious effects that using some of these items would have. The absurdity is that the main character is like many young women: misinformed, uninformed, and completely uneducated about pregnancy, health risks, and abortions. One of the many reasons this could be so is due to a lack of sex education in schools, religion, and a taboo around abortion, even when it is for the health of the person and another’s freedom to choose. Those fundamental human rights cannot be whimsically given or taken away in a so-called democracy, but here we are folks!
The play goes from funny, slightly cuckoo, to despondently and miserably sad. The truth as it is today must be combatted with compassionate and equal rights laws, one women and men fought for sixty years ago. And so, at the end of the show, the actors read out a list of actual laws from various states that have made abortion illegal. They go beyond proselytizing and hand out voting cards to the public so that we “don’t go backward.”
Additionally, Planned Parenthood will host an after-play discussion in October. See theater details for dates.
Kat Adams, who plays Monroe, is well-suited to portray the pregnant girl. Her best friend, Daniela Recabarren, plays the down-to-earth and practically-minded Jade. Bonnie Cullum directed the all-female production team.
‘Funny, Like An Abortion’ was originally developed with PlayGrounds 25th and 26th Festival of New Works, a prestigious platform for new and innovative plays. This development process, under the guidance of Jim Kleinmann, Artistic Director, has ensured that the play is of the highest artistic quality.
Get your tickets Thursdays-Sundays,
Through October 12, 2024
The Vortex is located at 2307 Manor Road, Austin, TX, 78722
- Thursdays-Saturdays 8 pm, Sundays 6 pm
- ASL-interpreted Saturday, September 28–8 pm (FREE for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences)
- Livestream Thursday, October 3, 2024 8pm
- Industry Night Wednesday, October 9 8pm
- VORTEX Connects Post Show Discussions: Thursdays September 26, October 3, October 10 and Sunday, September 29-”How to Talk about Abortion” from Planned Parenthood