Many stage shows which come to Eden Court are based on real-life and personal events, none more so than, Egg.
This story is told in an unusual way as aerial artist and circus performer Sarah Bebe Homes narrates while at times dangling from silk fabric suspended more than 16ft above the stage.
Sarah, who hails from Maine in the United States but has lived in Edinburgh for the past seven years, said: “The show is performed using words, aerial acrobatics and live music and tells my personal story of me giving my friend Carol my eggs in order for her to have a child with her husband.
“She is 18 years older than me and we have a special relationship as she has been a mentor role model and more like a mother to me.
“She and her husband tried for years to conceive before asking me if I’d help them fulfil their dream of having a child. I was in my 20s when we went through the process which was successful and they now have a son aged 10.”
Carol and Sarah took the decision that this was something they wanted to be open about and not keep hidden.
“A lot of times women don’t talk about this but I wanted it to be something that was spoken about with a sense of joy and ease,” said Sarah. “People would ask how would we tell her son but it is so easy to describe it to a two year old. We’d say mummy needed a part and Bebe (Sarah’s middle name) gave her the part.
“Who made you? Mummy, daddy and Bebe. It’s so simple – he’s always understood this since he was old enough to talk.”
The idea to turn her experience into a show came to her a few years ago.
“It was always in the back of my mind that this was an amazing story, but I wasn’t sure how to tell it. In 2016, I wrote the script which resulted in this hour-long show,” said Sarah.
“I think the end result is a story that’s personal, and quite specific.
“There are lot of universal truths that people who don’t experience infertility can understand. It’s really educational and about the female productive system in a way that we’re not always informed of.
“Going through the process I learned so much about how my own body works – we think we know so much about women and their health but actually there’s so much about us that isn’t common knowledge and should be for us, while men also need to know about what is happening inside of us.
“We use projection in the show to get a visual image of what actually goes on and describe how IVF works as most people don’t understand it. There’s also the issue of choice and what’s acceptable or not in different communities.”
Sarah is joined on stage by Balázs Hermann who composed the music and performs it on a variety of instruments ranging from double bass to a balloon.
Audience feedback from this deeply personal show has, says Sarah, been really amazing.
“The show has a dark side but it is also quite joyous. I take the audience on an emotional journey which is not neat and tidy and doesn’t fit into a box, but the feedback has been incredible.”
As for the prospect of becoming a mum herself, she said: “I’m 36 now and so far in my life it hasn’t made sense for me to have my own family, but the question is still open!”
Egg, an original aerial theatre production from circus company, Paper Doll Militia, is at the One Touch Theatre, Eden Court on Thursday June 14 and suitable for those aged 14 and over. The performance starts at 7.30pm. The show can be seen at Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from August 1-26.
Contact: Eden Court on 01463 234234.
