Gareth Smith offers a bilingual review of Rhiannon Boyle’s monologue production, Anfamol, a story following one single woman’s decision to have a baby without a partner.
The concept of a single woman hitting her forties and deciding to have a baby by herself seems like ideal rom-com fodder in which a charming, professional protagonist will navigate the pitfalls of lone pregnancy, enjoy the support of humorous friends and probably find romance along the way. Once the baby is born: roll credits. Anfamol, a co-production of Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru and the Sherman Theatre, chooses a messier but more dramatically rewarding path that delves deep into the difficulties of pregnancy, parenthood and post-natal depression as a single mother. Rhiannon Boyle, who recently authored dark comedy Kill Me Now for Dirty Protest Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe, serves a similar mixture of shadow and light through the story of Ani (Bethan Ellis Owen).
As with many new shows, Covid’s fingerprints are all over Anfamol. It has disrupted production significantly, leading to last-minute changes to the set and influencing technical decisions. While it is a shame that the finished product might not be what was originally envisioned, the current version still feels polished and confident – no doubt a result of considerable work behind the scenes. As well as determining the form of the drama, Covid has also shaped its content. It is a highly significant element in Boyle’s script and the catalyst for Ani’s mental deterioration. While stories featuring the pandemic will no doubt eventually become tired, its incorporation here feels fresh and necessary, highlighting its tendency to make pre-existing social and personal problems far worse.
Anfamol is essentially a ninety-minute monologue, which means its success is largely dependent on the performance of its lead actor. Bethan Ellis Owen carries the show with ease, keeping the audience engaged in Ani’s life with an unflagging energy (even if some of the lines are delivered at such breakneck speed that they can become a little garbled). Although there are moments in which Ani’s loneliness is effectively conveyed by her isolation on the stage, Owen also populates the space with a range of different characters, including smug new mothers, tactless family members and socially awkward medical professionals.
Boyle invests her protagonist with a spiky sense of humour that serves numerous dramatic ends – highlighting her charm, defensiveness and vulnerability all at once, but also keeping the audience entertained. While there are plenty of funny moments throughout, the play becomes more challenging and difficult as it continues – allowing Boyle, Owen and director Sara Lloyd to excel in conveying Ani’s despair. Although the drama certainly can’t focus on every possible aspect of the scenario that it depicts, one topic that seems conspicuous in its absence is money. The privilege enabling Ani to spend thousands on sperm donors, IVF and living comfortably as a single parent seems like an element that is taken for granted – but the play is ultimately much more focused on the mental, rather than material, tolls of motherhood.
Anfamol is not just part of the Sherman Theatre’s reopening programme, but also marks the return of Welsh-language drama to Cardiff. As with many productions by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru (and the Sherman), the Welsh language is not just the medium for the drama but is essential to the themes and issues that it explores. It is perhaps Ani idly pondering how to translate “turkey baster” that most aptly sums up the overall tone of Anfamol – funny, unconventional and distinctly Welsh.
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Mae’r syniad o fenyw sengl yn taro ei phedwardegau ac yn penderfynu cael babi ar ei phen ei hun yn swnio fel stori ‘romcom’ delfrydol, efo prif gymeriad swynol a proffesiynol sy’n delio a pheryglon beichiogrwydd unigol trwy gymorth ffrindiau doniol a rhyw fath o ramant erbyn y diwedd. Unwaith mae’r babi yn cyrraedd – dechrau’r credydau! Mae Anfamol, a gynhyrchwyd gan Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru a Theatr Sherman, yn dewis llwybr mwy cymhleth ond werth chweil sy’n edrych yn agos at anawsterau beichiogrwydd, bod yn rhiant sengl ac iselder ôl-enedigol. Mae Rhiannon Boyle, å ysgrifennodd y comedi tywyll Kill Me Now ar gyfer Dirty Protest Theatre yn ystod Ŵyl Caeredin, yn ymddangos cymysgedd tebyg o gysgod a golau trwy gymeriad Ani (Bethan Ellis Owen).
Fel llawer o sioeau newydd, mae olion bysedd Covid ar hyd a lled Anfamol. Mae’r pandemig wedi effeithio’r cynhyrchiad ac arwain at newidiadau munud olaf i’r llwyfan a phenderfyniadau technegol. Er ei bod yn drueni bod y cynnyrch presennol yn wahanol i’r cynlluniad gwreiddiol, mae’r fersiwn newydd dal yn teimlo’n hyderus a fedrus – sy siŵr o fod yn ganlyniad o waith sylweddol y tu ôl i’r llenni. Yn ogystal â ffurf y ddrama, mae Covid hefyd wedi dylanwadu ar y cynnwys. Mae’n elfen sylweddol yn sgript Boyle ac yn cyfrannu at ddirywiad iechyd meddwl Ani. Er efallai y bydd straeon sy’n cynnwys y pandemig yn teimlo’n flinedig yn y pen draw, mae’n ffres ac yn angenrheidiol yma, gan ddangos ei dueddiad i wneud problemau cymdeithasol a phersonol yn waeth o lawer.
Mae’n deg i ddisgrifio Anfamol fel ymson naw deg munud , sy’n golygu bod ei lwyddiant yn dibynnu ar berfformiad ei brif actor. Mae Bethan Ellis Owen yn cario’r sioe yn rhwydd, gan gadw diddordeb y gynulleidfa try perfformiad llawn egni (hyd yn oed os yw rhai o’r llinellau mor gyflym bod e’n anodd clywed nhw). Er bod yna eiliadau lle mae unigrwydd Ani yn cael ei gyfleu’n effeithiol gan ei hunigrwydd ar y llwyfan, mae Owen hefyd yn poblogi’r gofod gydag amrywiad o gymeriadau gwahanol, gan gynnwys mamau newydd hunanbwysig, teulu di-fudd a gweithwyr meddygol lletchwith.
Mae’r hiwmor ffraeth mae Boyle yn darparu i Ani yn cyflawni nifer o ddibenion dramatig gan dynnu sylw at ei hwyl, ei hamddiffynned a’i bregusrwydd i gyd ar unwaith, tra hefyd yn diddanu’r gynulleidfa. Er bod digon o eiliadau doniol trwy’r sioe, mae’r ddrama’n dod yn fwy heriol wrth iddi barhau – sy’n rhoi cyfle i Boyle, Owen a chyfarwyddwr Sara Lloyd i ragori wrth gyfleu anobaith Ani. Er nad yw’n bosib i’r ddrama canolbwyntio ar bob agwedd o’r sefyllfa, un pwnc sy’n absennol – er bod yn hynod o bwysig – yw arian. Mae’r fraint sy’n galluogi Ani i wario miloedd ar sberm, IVF a byw’n gyffyrddus fel rhiant sengl yn ymddangos fel elfen sy’n cael ei chymryd yn ganiataol – ond yn y pen draw mae’r ddrama’n canolbwyntio llawer mwy ar ganlyniadau meddyliol mamolaeth.
Nid yw Anfamol yn unig yn rhan o raglen ailagor Sherman Cymru, ond mae hefyd yn dangos dychweliad ddrama Cymraeg i theatrau Caerdydd. Fel llawer o gynyrchiadau Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru (a Theatr Sherman), Gymraeg yw cyfrwng y ddrama ond hefyd yn hanfodol i’r themâu sy’n cael ei harchwilio. Efallai mai Ani yn cwestiynu sut i gyfieithu “turkey baster” sy’n crynhoi Anfamol yn effeithiol – doniol, gwahanol ac yn hollol Gymraeg.
Anfamol from Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru and the Sherman Theatre is touring now.
