Tomorrow, Saturday 11th June there’s going to be a Fertility Fest in a Quiet House. I realise it’s an oxymoron. How can a festival be quiet? But this one is. It’s a world first and I’m delighted to have been invited to share the details on the Access Fertility blog.
The Quiet House is a new play by award-winning writer Gareth Farr about a couple who are trying to conceive. All they want to do is fill their home with noise but like one in six couples in the UK they are struggling to start a family. And Fertility Fest, is a day-long festival that accompanies the play which is bringing together 30 artists and 20 of the country’s foremost fertility experts in one unique day of performance, discussion, support and solidarity about making babies in the modern world.
As the author of the book The Pursuit of Motherhood and Director of Fertility Fest, I feel passionate about lifting the lid on the infertility experience. It saddens me that it is still a taboo subject, often shrouded in secrecy and shame, when people are going through it on every street in every town across the country. The aim of the play and the festival is to help people feel less alone and to show the world that is an issue that affects us all. If it’s not you, it’s your sister or brother, daughter or son, friend or colleague.
Topics under the artistic microscope on Saturday will include the IVF experience, how it feels when assisted reproduction doesn’t work, egg and sperm donation, surrogacy, parenthood after fertility treatment, involuntary childlessness and the future of fertility. Some of the UK’s leading writers, visual artists, composers, theatre-makers and film-directors are taking part and they’ll be sharing the stage with the biggest names in the fertility industry for the first time. I’m excited about witnessing what will happen when art meets science. For the full programme see http://www.fertilityfest.com/#!london/t7cnt here and if you can’t come in person join us on Twitter @FertilityFest or check out The Fertility Podcast next week for news and reviews.
Whether you are patient going through fertility treatment or a person working in this field tomorrow promises to be a landmark day in promoting understanding and compassion for what it means to struggle to conceive. It’s finally time for the silence of infertility to make the biggest noise.
Fertility Fest will take place at London’s Park Theatre on Saturday 11th June. Tickets £35 including a performance of The Quiet House. You can read more about it here.The Quiet House then continues to run at the Park until 9 July. You can read more about it here
