Have no misconceptions about this play: it is about conception, and as with the title’s wordplay it is not exactly subtle. Upon sitting down one was confronted by a set adorned with squiggly structures, designed to conjure abstract images of swirling sperm in our fertile imaginations. Thus the scene, and the tone, was set for this tale of the animal need for reproduction, desperately injected with strong language and ill-conceived one liners that left me only occasionally impregnated with laughter.
Misconceptions seeks to show us how stressful the act of conception can be, particularly when humanity is reduced to a biology lesson. Gemma Redgrave and Timothy Walker play a couple in their late 30s, facing many pressures in their quest for children. Beset by a tumultuous past and faced with a sterile future, their only answer would seem to be artificial insemination.

Unfortunately, rather than bringing the couple together, this quest for life only seems to drive them apart, and the protagonists seem set on anything but making love. The play portrayed one long, tedious argument, leaving me wondering why pregnancy was the chosen path in the first place.
The introduction of supporting actor Sam Parks as the donor, a virile geek with a huge penis, provided some welcome comic relief. Amy Brown played the convincing park of an ex-lover and bedraggled bumble bee, but even mishaps with sperm, reminiscent of There’s Something about Mary, failed to help the production reach my comedic ‘g’ spot.
Misconceptions makes a brave attempt at marrying the deficiencies of human biology with laughter. There are some interesting observations of how Darwin’s theories have shaped human relations and a truly ironic conclusion. If nothing else, it inspired me to go home and get out my ruler.

Jason Nixon, 5/10/04