About 500 – A Woman’s Race Against Time.Premieres 8th– 11th Feb at The Union Theatre & 22nd– 26th Feb at Omnibus Theatre

“D’you realise that, as a woman, I’ll probably have no more than about 500 ovulations in my entire life? And for most of those, I’ve been either too young or too single or too whatever…”

Clem is 37 when she starts trying for a child with her partner Luke. 

Two unsuccessful years later, she begins to realise that she, like many other women, has been outmanoeuvred by a timetable that ignores women’s finite fertility….

“A bold new play for our times exploring important questions about female fertility, family and friendship – it will move you and make you think in equal measure.” (Jessica Hepburn, Fertility Fest Founder & Director)

“Simona Hughes creates a play that is original in form and conceptually rich – a fantastic debut from an exciting new writer.” (Caroline Freidman, Scenesaver)

Time stood still for us all in lockdown. For many this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but for women in their 30s wanting children, this made for an incredibly stressful pause in their lives. Fertility clinics reported a spike in the numbers of women approaching them to enquire about freezing their eggs.

The average age of first conception for women in the UK is now over 30 and continues to rise, despite the cliff-edge drop in fertility at 35. As a result, more and more women in their 40s find themselves involuntarily childless. Recent figures suggested that of this age group, only 10% of women are childless by choice. 

Originally due to premiere at both VAULT festival 2020 and 2022, and twice cancelled due to Covid, this show will now finally premiere at two award-winning theatre venues, The Union in Waterloo and The Omnibus in Clapham.

An online version released in 2020 received an OnComm Finalist Award and a Scenesaver Birthday Honours- Outstanding Performance Award.

London Theatre Review ★★★★  “dynamic, authentic, vitally important, and beautifully realised work”

LouReviews “an intriguing way of presenting ‘the raw deal that women face’….” 

2nd from Bottom “spot-on characterisation and dialogue which stays in the memory”

About 500 is written and directed by Simona Hughes, who graduated (with Distinction) from her MFA in Advanced Theatre Practice at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2019. The text was developed through in-depth interviews with over 20 women of all ages and through a series of actor-workshops, with the help of dramaturg, Melissa Dunne (Susannah Clapp’s Best Theatre of 2017, Artistic Director Paper Cut Theatre & Lecturer at RCSSD). The play combines an unfolding drama between 3 characters with an exploration of the subjective nature of time and a docu-theatre thread suggesting the real women’s voices behind the play.

Collaborators include award-winning Movement Director, Mandy Gordon, actors Stephanie Fuller(Scene Saver Birthday Honours Awards Finalist- Best Lead Performance), Joanna Nevin (TIME OUT “Joanna Nevin is Flawless”) and Dickon Farmar(Londontheatre1: “Dickon Farmar is superb”) 

Simona Hughes is an Artistic Director at The Tower Theatre where she recently co-curated their community arts festival Love [and Survival] in a Time of Covid. As director, Simona’s credits include Jubilee Voices (The Arcola Outside) “Extraordinary production” (Jill Truman formerly Hackney Gazette), A Passage To India (Tower Theatre) London Theatre Review ★★★★ “Totally absorbing”, Table (Tower Theatre) Remote Goat ★★★★ “Directed with a steady hand and some exquisite theatrical touches”, Spy In Stalls ★★★★,  Love, Love, Love (Theatro Technis), “Directed with precision, utterly convincing and compelling to watch” (Tamara Von Werthern, Performing Rights Manager, Nick Hern Books).

Notes to Editor

Title: About 500

Dates: 8th -11th Feb The Union Theatre and 22nd-26th Feb The Omnibus

Times: 7.30pm (Union) and 8.45pm (Omnibus)

Running Time: 60 minutes.

Venue: Union Theatre- 2 min walk Southwark Tube (Jubilee Line)- Old Union Arches, 229 Union St, SE1 OLR 

Omnibus- 5 min walk Clapham Common Tube (Northern Line)- 1 Clapham Common North Side, London SW4 0QW

Price: £13/£11

Box Office: Union Theatre    /  Omnibus Theatre   

Website: https://[email protected]
Twitter: @about500 Instagram: @about500theatre

Press Enquiries : Burcu Ustunel Telephone: 07789 000052