"What number have you got?"
"45."
"Lucky you. I'm 68."
There she is, in the waiting room. Numbers flash by. Voices call out. Doors open and close. Everyone seems to have their turn. Except her.
Years of crippling abdominal pain. Migraines. Weight that appears, disappears, reappears. Questions without answers. Appointments without conclusions. She has finally arrived.
Only to wait.
Wait to be called.
Wait to be examined.
Wait to be believed.
If I Had an Urn, I Would Try to Fit! In is a performance that magnifies the gender health gap through one woman's endless wait. It places women's lived experiences, pain and medical dismissal centre stage. The audience becomes both witness and accomplice: waiting alongside her, watching from the operating theatre, and slowly confronting an uncomfortable question:
Whose pain do we believe, and whose pain do we ask to wait?
Directed by Leah Eliaan
Performed by Rhode Gerrits
Written by Danique Dekker
Co-written by: Merle Mooren, Anne Weges, Lisa Kim An Jansen, Lotte Diepman & Lize Zwitser.
Music by Thijmen De Boer
Special thanks to
Jori Hermsen, Jessica Zeylmaker & Dr Fan Wu
Teoteater NGO, 10414 Tallinn, Harju County, Estonia