Cirrus@Austlit

'How’d I get so wise? I watched my dreams die. And then I kept going.

'Kelly Sheppard, a naive but excited junior staffer in the Electorate Office of Ruth Mandour, a first-term Member of Parliament, unexpectedly gets the chance to travel to Canberra with the passionate MP she idolises and Ruth’s brilliant-but­ exhausted Chief of Staff, Anna Cooper. Anna’s juggling Ruth’s new policy launch, a husband who can’t deal with their kid in her absence and the type of muffins the Member requires for a meeting while Kelly’s over the moon to get behind the scenes at Parliament and to watch her hero in action. But getting what you want in the nation’s capital requires some fancy footwork. What they all experience in that week makes them question their ambitions, their ideals and the value of democracy itself.'

Source: Production blurb.

'Meg is busy and she'd rather not be. But sometimes she can't help it. She’s holding a town meeting and her ex-student Ethan is there. He hasn't got a job...he can't help that either. She wants to start a new festival to celebrate everything their little country town has to offer. It’s going to be called “Euphoria”, which means “happiness”. And they should be happy, shouldn’t they?

'With the festival barrelling towards them, Meg and Ethan come face to face with the darkest parts of themselves as the past collides with the present. Based on real conversations between playwright Emily Steel and regional South Australian communities, Euphoria is a gently moving new work that will see audiences come together for a town meeting they’ll never forget.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

In 2016 writer Emily Steel had a termination after her baby was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. 19 Weeks tells her story with brutal honesty.

Emily used to think that people that had 'late' abortions weren't very smart or responsible. A late termination wasn't really ok. Yet here she is, being ushered through protesters, putting on a hospital gown, having an IV drip inserted. Emily is 19 weeks pregnant. The two-day abortion procedure is about to start, but the anaesthetic doesn't seem to be working...

According to recent statistics 1 in 3 women in the UK have had an abortion and 95% of those say they don't regret it. Yet the subject remains taboo. 19 Weeks is a raw account of the emotional, physical and philosophical battles Emily encountered throughout her late pregnancy termination.

Eve Myles stars as Emily in this true and visceral story.

via BBC Radio 4

'In 2016, playwright Emily Steel had a termination after her baby was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. This is her story. It’s sad and funny, familiar and surprising, not self-righteous or guilt-ridden but complex and truthful. Come sit by the pool, put your feet in the water, and listen.'

Source: 19weeks.com (https://www.19weeks.com/).

'She's from the right sort of country, she makes excellent tea, and she's desperately polite. But behind closed doors she's just desperate. She's homesick and lonely and bored out of her skull. Her baby won't sleep and her partner won't listen. Her neighbour on one side is crazy and the family on the other are (probably) terrorists. The guy downstairs thinks she walks too loud, and there are cracks appearing in the walls and in her sanity.

'Rabbits asks: How can we live together? What does it mean to be 'hom? And what if you took your worst thoughts about the people around you, and said them out loud?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.