A Child of Science
Written by Gareth Farr | Directed by Matthew Dunster⭐ UK Theatre Awards 2024 Nominee ⭐
Best New Play
Ingeniously crafted
A remarkable play with an extraordinary, emotional pulse
Gripping
Urgency of a thriller
In 1978, Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards, and Jean Purdy changed the world as we know it – and most people don’t even know their names.
Bruntwood Prize-winning writer Gareth Farr’s brilliant new play tells their pioneering story, and those of the army of women from all over the UK whose immense bravery helped them achieve the impossible – to create human life in vitro.
Faced with fierce criticism and hostility, and hounded by the media for “playing God”, trials were kept largely under wraps. But their determination to give hope to the thousands of families struggling to conceive eventually led to one of the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of our time: the birth of a baby girl and the creation of IVF, a procedure which has supported the birth of over 12 million babies worldwide over the last 45 years.
Directed by the highly acclaimed West End director Matthew Dunster (Hangmen, 2:22 A Ghost Story, Shirley Valentine) and starring Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Jamie Glover (Waterloo Road, Casualty), Meg Bellamy (The Crown), Adelle Leonce (Fool Me Once, Black Mirror), Sonoya Mizuno (House of the Dragon), and more, A Child of Science is about determination, dreams, hope, and courage. It’s a celebration of life.
A Child of Science is a fictionalised account of the true story of the events that led to the first ‘test-tube’ birth of a baby and the invention of IVF. The play is based on research and interviews over many years with embryologists and fertility doctors, some of whom worked closely with Bob Edwards, as well as those whose lives were affected by and enabled by those events. It features characters inspired by real-life individuals, and some entirely imagined by the writer.
Please note that we cannot guarantee the appearance of specific performers. Cast members’ performance schedules are subject to change, including unavailability, holidays or illness.
Artwork by Feast Creative
This production is generously supported by Chris & Marie Woodward
If you are affected by any of the issues covered in A Child of Science, or would like further information about infertility support, you can contact the following organisations: The Fertility Alliance | Fertility Network | Tommy’s | Bourn Hall
Filming Participants: Abi Foster, Alice Scarr, Alix Harris, Amy Hutchings, Beatriz Paula Garcia Lema, Charlie Limm, Ella Bierer, Ellie Potter, Emma Vaithianathan, Esther Myers-Insole, Gemma Knight Jones, Genevieve Dawson, Joanna Chetwynd, Kara Black, Keira Savage, Lydia Clark, Matilda Dickinson, Natasha O'Brien, Sinead Ferguson, Sophia Poppleston, Tundun Adebanjo.
Choir: Charlotte Eyres, Eleanor Rudge, Fiona Russell-Marks, Jill Barrett, Katie Duncan, Laura Elwood-Craig, Mars West, Phoebe Demeger, Rebecca Smith, Sarah Bryce, Sophie McGrath, Susanna Fasciolo. Recording engineer: Joy Stacey. The choir was made up of volunteer singers who all had some relationship to IVF, some had successfully had children using IVF, others were children born through the process, others are in the middle of the process now – but all their lives have been altered by its existence.
Behind the Scenes at A Child of Science
5 Jul 2024
Welcome from Director Matthew Dunster
5 Jun 2024
5 minutes with set designer | Anna Fleischle
4 Jun 2024
5 minutes with costume designer | Angelica Rush
30 May 2024
“It was my wife Gabby who first suggested that I research the history of the science that had made our children possible.” Writer Gareth Farr
30 May 2024
Amazing Grace: "Alistair's Birth proved that ivf was repeatable"
30 May 2024
The First Child of Science: In Conversation with Louise Brown
9 May 2024
Full cast announced for world premiere of ‘A Child of Science’
18 Apr 2024
An era-defining play, rich in social scope and emotional depth
Felton’s presence is magnetic
Brilliantly written... Imaginatively and slickly staged... Wonderfully acted
The story [has] real heart
Bristol Post
Powerfully poignant
The Daily Mail
Powerful... slick and emotive
A glowing tribute to all those involved in the development of IVF
A must-watch
Photos by Helen Murray
