The Toronto Theatre Review: Rachel Cairns’ Hypothetical Baby
By Ross
“This story begins...”, which, in the end, turns out to be a very hard sentence to finish, mainly because, “if we are being factual“, as Rachel Cairns; the creator and performer of Hypothetical Baby, that is now being presented at Factory Theatre, Toronto, tries so hard to be, no one can really tell you when life begins, let alone where one person’s story takes root. There are so many possible moments when this intricately woven tale truly starts, it seems. Yet in this smart and determined production by Nightwood Theatre in association with The Howland Company, the story could be seen as starting with her boyfriend, who falters yet somehow finds his way to rise to the occasion. Or maybe somewhere along the long and winding road, within her life, or entwined with her mother? Or even with her father? Or is it somewhere inside her own body, when a few things come together to create life, or at least the semblance of life? There is no clear beginning, and, as it turns out, an easy end to this tale, and that’s the beauty of it all. And the wiseness that exists inside it.
Her story is, without a doubt, a captivating one, hilariously unwound and delivered with clarity and compassion, without any obvious sign posts. There are personal rewindings and profound statistics, offered up by the engaging and talented Cairns (Tarragon’s Post-Democracy), that spin, in a sharply defined thoughtfulness, around an unplanned pregnancy and a quickly orchestrated abortion. All of which are unrolled together in the weeks before a Christmas visit to her mom’s in British Columbia. At first, this story begins with a doctor’s visit where she is horribly questioned (and shamed) by someone who should know better, (and who hopefully sees this show and comprehends what wrongs were committed). And even though part of her brain, the actor/creator part, was ignited by her writer’s instinct, the other part was completely abused in the most subtle of ways, representing decades and centuries of gendered inequality and bias around choice, change, and loss.
It’s perfectly crafted, this layering, and as directed with clarity and compassion by Howland’s Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster (Crow’s The Wolves; Shaw’s Snow in Midsummer), the gendered response to pregnancy is only the beginning of this thoughtfully written exploration of historic inequality and bias, where fault tries to get factored in as one is forced to sit in that small space that should be safe but truly isn’t. Bullet-proof windows are needed by anyone trying to provide help and assistance to a woman who is just trying to hold on to some sense of choice and control, but its terribly upsetting to know that this is a much-needed requirement.
“Life is a process“, not a start-moment pinpointed on conception, as one googled anti-abortionist woman states online in a truly horrific (yet not surprising) lectured argument that would make anyone want to wake up yelling profanities. But unfortunately, this reality is no nightmare. It’s a patriarchal argument that just keeps spinning our google-brain search in complicated abundance, and in that process, Cairns stretches the idea smartly tight with her neurotic vulnerability, an obsessive need to know all the answers, and a big welcoming dose of unflinching honesty.
Assisted most wisely by the detailed production, lighting & projection design by Julia Howman (Broadleaf/TPM’s The Chemical Valley Project) and the solid sound design by Cosette “Ettie” Pin (Buddies’ Oraculum), Hypothetical Baby delivers on the female trauma process of misogyny, not to mention racism and patriarchy, that swirls not only around our Canadian privilege, but far beyond our borders. It’s chaos and oppression, with constructs that limit and pen some into framings outside their control. And Cairns tries her best, without that “degree in literally anything” but her own, to wake us up, even if we aren’t ready to really see. The play falters a bit in the last third, feeling like the arms are stretched almost too wide to hold us in, but ultimately these truths need to be told, and delivered in this thoughtful way that they can be taken in and held just long enough to absorb its, and her, meaning and sense of urgent purpose. So make the right choice, even if a choice doesn’t feel honestly possible, given the state of the world, morally and financially. And try to get over to Factory Theatre to see Cairns and her Hypothetical Baby. I’m not sure I’d call it cute, in an infant kinda innocent way, but it certainly is smart and ferociously brave, in a placenta and reproductive oppression-informing kinda way. And that’s something to celebrate, with or without her mother by your side.
Rachel Cairns‘ Hypothetical Baby, a Nightwood Theatre production in association with The Howland Company is now playing February 22 – March 8, 2025, at the Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street, Toronto.
