Shauna and Robbie are expecting… different things. Shauna expects motherhood won’t be easy. Robbie can’t wait to be a dad. Then she arrives. Encountering financial difficulties alongside the arrival of baby Aisling and the barriers Shauna faces, Robbie spirals. Can Shauna and Robbie adjust their expectations and find a way back to one another? Will they sink or swim? Break down barriers with c21 Theatre Company with this accessible new show as Shauna and Robbie plunge into parenthood.
Developed in collaboration with deaf artist Paula Clarke and featuring both deaf and hearing artists, this poetic one-act play explores experiences unique to deaf and hearing couples.
Thursday, May 16 at 8:00 pm
Fridays at 8:00 pm
Saturdays at 3:00 pm & 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 19 at 3:00 pm
Adult tickets $40.00
Senior tickets $35.00
25% discount when you build a package with EXPECTING, WEBSTER'S BITCH, THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, and NOISES OFF.
Keegan subscribers may email the Box Office for special $25.00 tickets. Email boxoffice@keegantheatre.com to arrange your tickets.
70 minutes with no intermission
Trigger warnings include anxiety attacks and postnatal depression.
DC Theater Arts Review
“With the multiple means of communicating from spoken dialogue, to lip reading, sign language, and written projections, director Kelly has built a more accessible theatrical experience for the Deaf community. At the same time this elegant methodology raises awareness for hearing audience members.”
Broadway World Review
“In Expecting, the stellar performances of Paula Clarke and Eoghan Lamb elevate the production… Clarke and Lamb adeptly navigate the play’s tonal shifts, seamlessly transitioning between comedic, serious, and tender moments with a believability that captivates the audience.”
MD Theatre Guide Review
“The acting is riveting… the duo are a convincing portrait of struggling parents, particularly in the wake of childhoods that have left their own marks. Stephen Kelly’s direction… evokes a keen appreciation for the talents of Lamb and Clarke.”
c21 is a Northern Irish touring theatre company that champions new stories with an eye to international audiences and festivals. Their mission is to embrace traditional, digital and interactive methods as well as site-specific projects, to deliver enriching and memorable experiences in the heart of communities, and to collaborate with public and private organizations, education, and tourism. LEARN MORE
Charis McRoberts is a writer from Belfast Northern Ireland, a BBC New Creative & one of thirteen poets selected for Poetry Ireland’s Introduction Series 2020. Previous audio work includes Four (Rural Media, BBC Arts), Ballynahinch (United Kingdoms, BBC Radio 4) & The Raven’s Call (Tinderbox, BBC Radio Ulster). Charis has been commissioned across the UK & Ireland by companies and theatres including the Common Wealth Games, BBC, Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre, Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, The Wolverhampton Grand, the Birmingham Museum and Kabosh Theatre, amongst others. She believes art should be used as a vehicle for change and never dreamed it possible that her words would be performed on this side of the Atlantic.
Paula Clarke is a live performance artist, working in theatre. She is also a sign language translator and a poet. Born Deaf, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, she grew up in the Deaf and hearing communities. She has three languages: BSL, ISL and International Sign Language. She is active in the theatre and broadcasting worlds in both personal and professional levels. She performed and helped create the first Deaf Arts Festival Northern Ireland in 2023. During this festival she had her debut performance as Shauna in EXPECTING. After touring Ireland, the production transferred to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Edinburgh Deaf Festival.
Paula has collaborated with Amanda Coogan in ‘Smoking in Bolero’ for Live Collision (Dublin) and her ‘You Don’t Push the River’ exploration in the Golden Thread Gallery (Belfast) and the popular ‘Run to the Rock’ performance at Belfast International Arts Festival at The MAC Belfast, 'Talk Real Fine Just Like a Lady' at Peacock Theatre
(Dublin) and ‘Floats in the Aether’ which was a live performance “wandering” around the National Gallery’s historical rooms (Dublin, 2019). Paula is a BSL Presenter for the BBC Northern Ireland Newsline programme. She is delighted to be in Washington with EXPECTING.
Eoghan trained at the Oxford School of Drama. Over the years Eoghan has toured extensively throughout UK, Ireland and Italy with a range of theatre companies playing many diverse roles. Recent work includes: The Tenerife Two (Belfast Ma) The Chords the Bind (Fighting Words NI), Through the Glass (c21) Luther by John Osborne (Centre Stage) Better Late than Dead on Time (Theatre &) Goldilocks & the three Bears (Centre Stage), Nine Lives or Roddy Hogg (Theatre &), The Journey (Theatre &), Romeo & Juliet (c21), Little Miss Muffet (Centre Stage), The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe(M&M), Jungle Book (Lingue Senza Frontiere), and Leave it Out (Replay). Television work include: Through the Glass (c21) An Trucaillín Donn (TG4) A Year Of Greater Love (BBC) and Spotlight (BBC) In 2023 saw Eoghan performing in Belfast as part of N. Ireland’s first ever Deaf Arts Festival which after much success was invited to perform in the Edinburgh Deaf Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. As part of his commitment to Expecting he has been taking lessons in British and American Sign Language to further increase his understanding of the role.
Stephen co-founded c21 Theatre Company in 2005 when, as a graduate from Gaiety School of Acting, he wanted to create professional theatre in his home city of Belfast. He went on to act, produce, and direct in over fifteen productions throughout the last ten years. He strongly believes that as a touring company in Northern Ireland, audiences should have the opportunity to experience professional theatre. The Company has toured extensively to rural areas on numerous occasions around the country and continues to explore opportunities nationally and internationally.
Sophie graduated in 2015 from The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, in Theatre and Performance Technology. Throughout her Stage Management career she has worked with various Theatre companies and Theatres throughout Northern Ireland such as Lyric Theatre, The Mac, Theatre at The Mill, Cahoots NI, c21 Theatre Company, David Hull Promotions, Kabosh Theatre Company, Maiden Voyage Dance, NI Opera, Replay Theatre Company, Terra Nova Productions and Tinderbox Theatre Company. She has also worked in TV as the Stage Manager for ‘Give My Head Peace’ for the BBC.
