Work of the pioneers still has impact

I am hoping that another theatre somewhere in the world soon takes the plunge and puts on a production of the Gareth Farr play A Child of Science.

The play, which covers the work of Robert Edwards, Patrick Steptoe and Jean Purdy over the 20 years leading up to my birth had its premiere season at Bristol Old Vic in my home city.

I was lucky enough to see it four times! I went to the press night; did a stage talk about IVF before staying on to watch it again and then revisited with my husband and son before attending the last night to say goodbye to the wonderful cast and crew.

The play does not just cover the science. It highlights all that the 282 women who were on the trial at the little cottage hospital in Oldham went through. Most of them were not successful in having children but the pain and hope that they went through enabled IVF to become a reality and they enabled millions of women in future years to enjoy the joy of having a family.

Of course it was strange for me to see actor Bebe Sanders playing my mother and giving birth to me on the stage. I know that members of Bob Edwards and Patrick Steptoe’s family also attended and others who worked with them and knew them. All I have spoken to believe that the play captures the spirit of those amazing people.

As a Harry Potter fan I was particularly pleased to meet and get to know Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films) who played Bob Edwards. Obviously I only knew Bob when he was older but Tom’s performance showed the determination of Bob and his wife in making IVF happen.

Jamie Glover, who also has a Harry Potter connection as he was in The Cursed Child in the West End and is also known for his role in Waterloo Road brought Patrick Steptoe to life and showed what a caring person Patrick was – something my mother always said about him.

I must also mention Meg Bellamy, who played Jean Purdy, who I never knew but who played a crucial role as the world’s first embryologist. The incredible Adelle Leonce who played Margaret, patient 38, embodied all the issues that face women with fertility in a powerful and emotional way. Her performance tugged at the heart of everyone in the audience.

I was really sad on the last night to say goodbye to the whole cast, so I must mention all the others: Sonoya Mizuno, Saikat Ahmed, Gruffod Glyn, Amy Loughton, Everal A Walsh and Bobby Hirston. They all did an amazing job.

My stage talk, hosted by Valentine Akande of Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM)  included writer Gareth Farr and it is obvious that as a father of twin IVF girls he is passionate about the story and about keeping alive the story of how this scientific breakthrough changed the world – something I am also keen to do when I meet people around the world.

The work of the pioneers is still having impact today and with film projects also in the pipeline later this year I am looking forward to other interpretations of the story behind my birth coming to screen.

This first dramatisation – A Child of Science - was certainly powerful and you could feel the emotion in the magnificent Bristol Old Vic Theatre.