Writers: Davinia Hamilton and Marta Vella
Directors: Sam Edmunds and Vikesh Godhwani
Davinia Hamilton and Mara Vella’s impassioned verbatim theatre show, Blanket Ban, caused some controversy in the Maltese press when it was reviewed at the Edinburgh Fringe last year with its focus on Malta’s abortion policy which states they are illegal in any circumstances. So, the writers of this 85-minute show have made a virtue of it including this feedback in a production that incorporates original testimony, an explanation of how the show came together and a celebration of a country that both Hamilton and Vella clearly adore.
There are a lot of things going on in Blanket Ban which includes several intersecting strands as well as some less well-developed thoughts that make this a pointed and important conversation, if sometimes a scrappy one. The biggest question for a verbatim theatre show is how to take the excellent research, the statistics and facts that the audience need to hear along with the individual stories of pain and loss and make it into a piece of drama rather than an essay or narrative polemic.
On the whole, Hamilton and Vella have achieved that using a number of theatrical devices to draw the audience into the experience of the anonymised women who have contributed to the show. And in explaining their methodology, it is clear the material has been treated responsibly and with respect. And Blanket Ban successfully mixes different techniques together including recorded video interviews, re-enactments and narration of original testimony along with news footage and a rather enlightening Facebook chat with a medical ‘expert.’
Hamilton and Vella are also welcoming hosts, their engaging, conversational style bringing the audience into the show from the start and using bold cartoony humour to create an early energy which rarely flags as the writer-performers swap costumes, change characters and entertainingly reflection on their show as it is being presented. Co-directors Sam Edmunds and Vikesh Godhwani along with video designer Tom Fitch have thought creatively about presenting this segmented show, maintaining a fairly pacey style while giving a multi-faceted sense of Malta.
The sections devoted to the glories of Malta, its mythology, the beauty of the sea and the writers’ deep love of the country is interesting, and there is an important debate in Blanket Ban about the hard line on abortion in an otherwise progressive country. But the show could delve more into the dilemma this presents for the writers, and perhaps even for the women denied abortions or forced to endure dangerous pregnancies. What does country and nationhood mean to people unable to control their bodies and by extension what role have other countries played in helping Maltese women seek help? These are questions that Blanket Ban incidentally poses but never fully investigates.
Similarly, a story about British convoys bringing food during the Second World War is episodically included throughout the piece, but there is little overall link with the contemporary rights under discussion. Hamilton and Vella have created a smart and engaging show that those Edinburgh reviews demonstrate is drawing attention to their cause, but with a love of Malta at its heart, Blanket Ban also needs to address what it all means for their conflicted identity as well.
Runs Until: 20 May 2023
