MISCONCEPTIONS
by Lewis, David
Genre: Light Drama
Cast 2 male 2 female
Length Full
Set Interior
Licence World ex. US & Canada
ISBN 9780856762628
World premiere: April 2002 as a co-production between Derby Playhouse and Salisbury Playhouse. A new comedy about sex, infertility and DIY artificial insemination!
After years of attempting to conceive without success, Matthew and Linda’s marriage has come under great strain. Matthew, a university biology lecturer, buries himself in biological charts, sperm counts, microscopes and textbooks searching for answers while Linda’s desperation increases alongside her ever-present rat phobia. Finally, Matthew convinces her that they should enlist the help of their mutual friend Barry for a bit of DIY artificial insemination, though unbeknownst to Linda he has other ideas. After each visit he switches Barry’s sample with one of his own in one last attempt to prove his potency, but nothing goes according to plan as eventually the strains prove too much not only for Matthew and Lucy, but for Barry and Matthew’s young nubile student Zoe as the myths surrounding infertility, reproduction and sexual warfare explode in dramatic fashion. “Lewis has a fine eye and ear for the ridiculous, but [Misconceptions] is in fact a beautifully balanced tragicomedy.” [Financial Times]