the Woman

M is a writer. M is a mother. M is a woman. The triumph of M's hit play is hijacked by motherhood. She is burnt out, angry, lonely, craving intimacy but disengaged, and terrified of the future. She wants to tell her story, her way. But everyone keeps giving her their opinions on who she is, who she ought to be, and how she's fucking everything up. Fiercely funny and brutally honest, Jane Upton's play (the) Woman shatters the glossy veneer of motherhood, exposing its raw, messy truth and what happens when a woman dares to question the definition of (her)self. It was shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, and first performed by New Perspectives on tour of the UK in 2025.