''Birthrights'' is a 2003 play by David Williamson, published by

Currency Press Currency Press is a leading performing arts publisher and its oldest independent publisher still active. Their list includes plays and screenplays, professional handbooks, biographies, cultural histories, critical studies and reference works. H ...

Plot

At twenty-nine, Helen has a vital operation that stops her from having what she desperately wants: a child. Her younger sister Claudia gives her a wonderful gift when she agrees to be a surrogate mother. But what happens when, years later, Claudia discovers that she and her husband Martin cannot conceive and that Kelly, the child she gave to her sister, is the only baby she will ever bear?Review of original production, ''Sydney Morning Herald''. 4 June 2003
accessed 1 December 2012

First production

''Birthrights'' was first produced by

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

at the Playhouse,

Victorian Arts Centre Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...

, on 16 April 2003, with the following cast: HELEN DEAKIN:

Doris Younane Doris Younane (born 25 February 1963) is an Australian stage and screen actress notable for her role in ''McLeod's Daughters'' where she played Moira Doyle. She is of Lebanese descent.Maria Theodorakis Maria Theodorakis is an Australian actress who has many credits in television, movies and theatre. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''CrashBurn'' and ''Marshall Law''. She has also had guest roles in many television serie ...

MARTIN: Peter Houghton MARK: Kevin Harrington MARGARET: MCADAM:

Deidre Rubenstein Deidre Rubenstein (born 1948) is an Australian television and theatre actress, as well as a dramatist and playwright well known for her performance in Australian soap operas and main stage dramatic roles. She has won the Australian Film Institute ...

KELLY:

Asher Keddie Asher Keddie (born 31 July 1974) is an Australian actress. Beginning her career in the television series ''Five Mile Creek'' in the mid 1980s, Keddie received wide recognition for her role in the television series ''Offspring''. Her significant ...

Director, Tom Gutteridge Designer, Louise McCarthy Lighting Designer, David Walters Sound Designer, David Franzke

References

{{David Williamson Plays by David Williamson 2003 plays