Blood of the Lamb by Arlene Hutton
Directed by Lyndsay Burch
Review by That Guy in The Foyer, John Doherty
★★★★★
Presented by B Street Theatre, Fringe Management LLC & Joanne Hartstone.
The Gallery, The Courtyard of Curiosities
Migration Museum, Kintore Avenue, Adelaide
February 20- March 17.
2024. Texas, United States of America, the Lone Star State in the Land of the Free, adopted the word “Friendship” as its motto during the Forty-first Texas Legislature in February 1930.
On September 1, 2021, The Firearms Carry Act HB1927 made it legal in Texas for most people 21 or over to carry a handgun in a holster without a permit both openly and/or concealed.
In Texas, the death penalty for murder was reinstated in 1976 and, since that reinstatement, the State leads the United States in the number of executions.
Texas boasts the second highest murder rate in America.
In Texas, in most cases abortion is illegal, except to save the mother's life, or prevent substantial impairment of major bodily function.
A trigger law has been in effect since August 25, 2022, which bans abortion in all cases except to save the life of the mother.
In Texas in December 2023, a 31-year-old woman living in Dallas pleaded with the state of Texas to overturn its abortion restrictions and allow her pregnancy to be terminated after learning her foetus had a deadly ailment, putting her health at risk.
Texas. It’s complicated.
And I am sure no one needs reminding of the US Supreme Courts decision in 2022 to overrule the Roe v Wade (1973), which legalised abortion and gave women the right to choose what to do with their own bodies!
But what if the in-utero child has died?
The premise of “Blood of the Lamb” is so simple yet so complex.
Nessa, (Dana Brooke) a thirty something woman in early term pregnancy, is travelling from LA to NY on a plane when she collapses.
Presumably diverted to the nearest centre with a hospital equipped to deal with Nessa’s health crisis, the plane lands in Houston, Texas, where the unborn child is immediately deemed a citizen of that State.
The play opens, stark set consisting of a white table and two chairs, with the entrance of terse, God -fearing Val (Elisabeth Nunziato), and the understandably confused Nessa who, having discovered her in flight collapse was due to carrying a dead child, believes she is being medically assessed for her eligibility to fly home ASAP.
However, as my introduction suggests, Texas is a complex place of many intersecting values!
Nessa discovers the woman with who she converses is the legal representation for her deceased in-utero child!
The potential for serios spoilers is way too great here but, suffice it to say, Arlene Hutton’s remarkable script, and superb performances from Nunziato and Brooke, left me breathless.
Notably -and refreshingly- Hutton’s script is not a binary argument!
I found myself finding sympathy for the lawyer, Val, a woman whose actions are driven by deeply held values and a legal system which she, in her professional role, must adhere to!
I don’t suggest Val is right! However, you must see the production to appreciate her actions!
Lyndsay Burch’s direction is tight and supremely economical to great effect- nothing is superfluous, or without reason, which simply heightened the intensity of the drama.
Some “little birds” – I am sure some will understand the reference- indicated “Blood of the Lamb” will soon be staged Off Broadway soon- bravo!!!
This is great theatre reflecting a zeitgeist many of us would prefer to ignore!
Don’t ignore it! Go! See it!