Writer: Robert Nurden
Director: David Furlong
The phrase ‘Involuntary Childlessness’ may not be familiar, but it affects 20% of all British women and 25% of British men by the age of 45. The debut play of journalist Robert Nurden, 74, author of I Always Wanted to be a Dad: Men Without Children (2023) tackles this painful subject and gives space and voice to an emotionally wrought, rarely discussed and little understood subject.
In Empty, we find ourselves in Dave’s apartment somewhere in London, which must be worth a few bob because the views are impressive. He brings out a bottle of Sancerre and waits for Amy to arrive, his former partner, now married to Gary. They cagily assess their professional and personal status since separating; Dave’s doing well—he just bought a new BMW; Amy is less content with her life as a football widow. The conversation soon turns to children – or lack of them.
Amy’s desire for children and Dave’s dismissal of the idea are what tore them apart eight years ago. After numerous rounds of unsuccessful and expensive IVF, Amy has one last shot at motherhood. In an unexpected reversal, Dave has, since they separated, had a complete volte-face. It’s not only women who can feel broody and crave babies or a family life. Dave, too, is experiencing an existential crisis as he confronts his own mortality. As time slips away, he fears he will never sire his own child.
Empty brings many creative and dramatic challenges as a piece of staged work. How to show absence or lack of? In this 55-minute piece with no interval, the solution is almost entirely discursive. There is a plot and sequence of action, but it’s a static piece that happens all in one room as one long conversation and lament. That said, the performances in this two-hander do have depth and trace the stages of grief including anger, bargaining, hope and acceptance.
Empty is promoted on the lesser-known male experience of involuntary childlessness, but it’s Hannah Douglas’s performance as Amy that is more vivid and heartfelt. Her outburst about an irrational hatred of nature with its inbuilt ability to perpetuate itself is memorable. Dave, played by Paul Kemp, comes across as less sympathetic—one who has prized money and work over family and relationships and now mourns his inconsequential legacy. On the one hand, he’s pleasant and avuncular; on the other, a narcissist who weaponises his wealth and sees relationships as transactional. “I need to get something out of it.”
Constructionally, it’s a solid piece with well-drawn and nuanced characters, although it does seem to finish about three times with additional directorial layers. The breaking of the fourth wall is jarring, and the voice-overs of thoughtless or judgemental responses from others take the audience out of the story, although they might integrate better if positioned elsewhere. While Empty could be more dramatically realised, this is nonetheless a powerful and cathartic watch for anyone who has directly experienced involuntary childlessness or wants to understand more.
Runs until 11 July 2026
