I Hate This

I Hate This is a solo performance by David Hansen detailing his experiences as the father of a stillborn child.

Production

First produced at Cleveland Public Theatre in 2003, this award winning performance [cite web|url=http://bestof.clevescene.com/bestof/award.php?award=21037&year=2003|title=Best Actor 2003|publisher=Cleveland Scene|accessdate = 2007-10-19 ] has been presented at the Minnesota Fringe Festival and the New York Fringe Festival, as well as for numerous bereavement organisations and as a training event at hospitals for midwives, nurses and doctors. [cite web|url=http://www.uk-sands.org/fileadmin/content/Media/David_Hansen_final.doc|title=Critically acclaimed play, 'I HATE THIS (a play without the baby)’, to be performed across the UK for the first time this summer|publisher=SANDS UK|accessdate = 2007-10-19 ]

ynopsis

At their thirty-week prenatal appointment, the playwright and his wife discover their first child has died due to preeclampsia. The events of the play cover the thirty-six hours between that revelation and the birth of their son, and also events during the year that leads up to this child's first birthday, all from the point of view of the father. In twenty-seven short scenes, the narrator performs a dozen characters including members of his family, friends, and a number of health care professionals and counselors.

"By elucidating such mundane moments as his futile attempts to be removed from a baby-food company mailing list, Hansen gives us a glimpse into day-to-day life after a baby dies."- Laura Seftel, "Grief Unseen" [cite book|title = Grief Unseen|last = Seftel|first = Laura|publisher = Jessica Kingsley Publishers|origdate = 2006|isbn = 1-84310-805-4|location = Philadelphia, PA and London|format = paperback|accessdate=2007-11-05]

References

External links

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/theater/reviews/19frin.html?ex=1113192000&en=ae90a682b9e2d4a8&ei=5070| New York Times review]
* [http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/resound_2007_january.asp| NPR radio adaptation]