‘Like Rabbits’ by Trinity Playwright-in-Residence premieres at ADC

In 1726, a young woman from Surrey called Mary Toft becomes an overnight celebrity – the rumour is that she has given birth to rabbits.

This true story (minus the rabbits) is the subject of a bold play premiering at Cambridge’s ADC Theatre this week. Like Rabbits is written by Shaffer Playwright-in-Residence Imogen Usherwood and features many Trinity students in the cast and directing team.

Interviewed by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Imogen said:

I wanted to write a history play, and I wanted a story that had women at its centre.

Like Rabbits considers the role of women in the public eye, relationships between mothers and daughters, the nature of motherhood, and the politicization of events.

Toft’s claim is, of course, untrue. But says Imogen, because everybody, including King George I, believed her when she said she had given birth to rabbits the lie grows, incriminating the numerous doctors who corroborate her claims with ‘findings’ of their own.

Imogen Usherwood and Trinity PhD student James Critchley, who directs the play, mirror this snowball effect of confirmation bias through their staging. The play’s 41 characters are played by 19 actors.

In part, this is thanks to guidance from Trinity alumnus Peter Shaffer (1926-2016), whose birth centenary Trinity College recently celebrated.

Five years ago, the Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation and Trinity College created the Shaffer Playwright-in-Residence scheme. The award came with some stipulations: the post-holder must write one original play and it should contain more than 3 characters.

‘It’s been so liberating to be actively encouraged to write something big and ambitious for a huge cast,’ said Imogen.

Shaffer is well-known for his ambitious plays. The Royal Hunt of the Sun has more than 30 characters. However, it was Amadeus that inspired Imogen when she was working on Like Rabbits. Also known for using an ensemble to portray court dynamics, she saw parallels in its scope as a ‘historical play set in the same century, which has theatricality at its heart and an epic, sweeping story.’

Trinity student Cressida Massey-Cook, who plays Lady Charlotte Clayton in Like Rabbits, said the process had been ‘a real delight.’ ‘It is not often that you get the opportunity to work with such a large ensemble,’ she said.

As part of their preparation, Imogen and James visited the Wren Library to look at A Short Narrative of an Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbets, a book by Dr Nathaniel St André, one of many physicians who examined Mary Toft.

A central figure in Imogen’s retelling of Mary’s story, Dr St André’s words are quoted verbatim in the play.

Critchley said it had been thrilling to help bring to life such a large-scale piece of theatre.

Untangling the theatricality of Mary’s story has been an exciting process in the rehearsal room: Like Rabbits has theatre at its heart and is a celebration of the unique formal properties of stage storytelling.

Like Rabbits is at the ADC Theatre, Cambridge, 20-23 May.

Rehearsal images: Lily North.