Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The title of Bijan Sheibani’s new play refers to that most fundamental of lifelines: the umbilical cord. In this short, sometimes painfully honest drama, Sheibani gives a movingly frank account of the early days of parenthood — the wonder, the ecstasy, the anxiety, the confusion, the arguments and, above all, the overwhelming exhaustion. But at its heart, The Cord is about something deeper: the way the arrival of a baby signals a fundamental shift in identity and in key relationships.Sheibani’s focus is on Ash, a new dad (Irfan Shamji). The birth of his son, Louis, has knocked him sideways — it has filled him with joy and tenderness, but also impacted his marriage. His wife, Anya (Eileen O’Higgins), is sore, shattered and struggling to breastfeed: sex has disappeared out of the window and Ash feels sidelined and unsure of his role. There’s growing rivalry between the grandparents too, with Anya’s mother on the scene but Ash’s mum, Jane, at arm’s length.Significantly for the drama, Louis’s birth has opened up unresolved feelings about Ash’s babyhood relationship with Jane (Lucy Black), who appears to have suffered from serious postnatal depression. The cord that ties Ash to Jane is perhaps the one under most scrutiny here.Sheibani writes with sympathy, a good ear and admirable frankness about some of the tougher moments of early parenthood: the rows, the resentments, the jealousies. He also bravely explores difficult territory such as the way depression in a parent might affect a child. And in the playwright’s spare, intimate staging — on a carpeted playing space, with cellist Colin Alexander shaping the mood — Shamji gives a touching performance as a decent, caring guy in the grip of confusing, conflicting and sometimes ugly emotions.Black is good too as the brisk, brittle Jane, while O’Higgins deftly suggests the turbulent feelings of a new mother bewildered by her husband’s behaviour. The play is held back, however, by the fact that both women feel underdeveloped as characters — even given the fact that the focus here is the man’s experience. Meanwhile the impact of postnatal depression needs exploring in greater depth than is possible here. It’s a tender, thoughtful piece confronting difficult issues honestly, but it feels as though it just needs another layer.★★★☆☆To May 25, bushtheatre.co.uk
