Jane/Norma tells the real story of Norma McCorvey, the woman behind the landmark Roe Vs. Wade case in 1973, who won one of the most famous legal battles in history under the alias Jane Roe. The play spans fifty years of history from the initial US Supreme Court ruling to the 2023 overturning, analysing how her victory defined the ongoing abortion debate. But it also explores Norma’s own life and what happened in the years that followed the fateful trail, as those people who claimed to know her best and piece together threads of testimony in an effort to grasp the real story.
It is an insightful glimpse into how this pioneering woman was used as a pawn by others to further agendas and political motivations, and her position as an object to wield rather than voice to be heard. At the close of the play we hear from Norma in a nursing home about the motivations behind her complex character and why she became a spokesperson for the anti-abortion movement that followed.
Charlotte Bella Page and Peter Morrison both play multiple roles within the story. An unique aspect of the show was a costume rail in the centre of the stage that divided that actors and allowed for different personas to come and go throughout the performance. The key characters of church leaders by Morrison and Roe’s girlfriend reoccurred the most and were portrayed convincingly.
Yet at times, the audience lost track of who Page was playing due to the number of female roles: the performance demands focus. The shifting accents between American Deep South and preppy New York were also a little unconvincing, with Texas occasionally becoming more like Wiltshire. But for these two actors to play over a dozen characters, their efforts were admirable.
The play overall gives a thought-provoking insight into a story that is extremely relevant but needlessly unknown.
Jane/Norma is on at theSpace On The Mile – Space 3 at 2:15pm on 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25 August. Tickets are available here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/jane-norma.
Image provided to The Student as press material.