大象传媒

Kate is the woman who has it all. She鈥檚 the perfect Mum, wife and daughter until 鈥� for the first time in her charmed life 鈥� things do not go to plan. In her second pregnancy, Kate develops extreme morning sickness (Hyperemesis Gravidarum) and, quite literally, cannot stop vomiting.

So how does all this endless purging, spewing and upchucking (not to mention the non-stop urge to spit into a bucket) change Kate鈥檚 understanding of her family, her marriage and, ultimately, her own identity? And, of all the visitors to her bedside offering tea, dry toast, and stories from her childhood, who can she really trust?

This funny, dark and joyfully disgusting 鈥渧om com鈥� by Annalisa Dinnella takes inspiration from the playwright鈥檚 own experience of this rare and often misunderstood complication of pregnancy 鈥� also made famous by the Duchess of Cambridge. Do not try to eat while listening.

Background note:
The classic story of the 鈥榯ortured child鈥�, which is used as a framing device in the drama, first appeared in Dostoyevsky鈥檚 The Brother鈥檚 Karamazov in 1880. The philosopher William James returned to the theme in 1891 in The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life and,in 1973, Ursula Le Guin used the metaphor as the central conceit of her short story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.

Cast:
Naomi鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��......Cariad Lloyd
Kate鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��.鈥�....Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Evelyn鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��.....Alison Steadman
Dr Manning/Smart Phone鈥�Teresa Gallagher
Dan/Nurse Craig鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��Alex Lowe
John鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��....Sean Baker
Young Kate鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��.Kathleen Keaney
Young Naomi鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��.Lola Page
Sophie鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��.Sophie Xu

Writer: Annalisa Dinnella
Sound design: David Thomas
Director: Karen Rose
Producer: Karen Rose

A Sweet Talk production for 大象传媒 Radio 4