On the edge of/a cure

by Julia Barclay-Morton

Inspired by #metoo, this is a meditation - on sexual violence, power and gender identity - both painful and darkly funny. As with most of my plays, there are no designated lines or characters, to allow maximum freedom in creating a piece of theater from this text. This piece can be seen as about one person with multiple voices, or multiple people creating a kind of composite field. The minimum number of...

Inspired by #metoo, this is a meditation - on sexual violence, power and gender identity - both painful and darkly funny. As with most of my plays, there are no designated lines or characters, to allow maximum freedom in creating a piece of theater from this text. This piece can be seen as about one person with multiple voices, or multiple people creating a kind of composite field. The minimum number of performers is 3 and a maximum of 7. The ideal is probably about 5, with a diverse cast.

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On the edge of/a cure

Recommended by

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: On the edge of/a cure by Julia Barclay-Morton
    “

    A devastating, inspiring, and deeply personal investigation into healing, making sense of trauma, the price of self-actualization/identity/autonomy, and if any of it is possible for non-cisgenders/non-males in a patriarchy. Reminiscent of Toni Morrison's DESDEMONA, the weight of struggling with a society is felt in an elegiac meditation of one's authority to tell their truth. A deconstructing of popular gender tropes transcends into a clarion call for the validity of emotion, intuition, and art.

    A devastating, inspiring, and deeply personal investigation into healing, making sense of trauma, the price of self-actualization/identity/autonomy, and if any of it is possible for non-cisgenders/non-males in a patriarchy. Reminiscent of Toni Morrison's DESDEMONA, the weight of struggling with a society is felt in an elegiac meditation of one's authority to tell their truth. A deconstructing of popular gender tropes transcends into a clarion call for the validity of emotion, intuition, and art.

    ”
  • Emma Goldman-Sherman: On the edge of/a cure by Julia Barclay-Morton
    “

    Probably my favorite play ever of all the plays I've read on NPX, I want to hear this spoken aloud and see this staged. I want this play more in the world than anything in the world right now. Absent to herself, the protagonist tries desperately to reconstruct her past but being a female (non) person in this culture today, it is almost impossible to be anything except a toadstool. AND I FEEL EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. If you've ever wondered what women are about, what's up with us, read this play.

    Probably my favorite play ever of all the plays I've read on NPX, I want to hear this spoken aloud and see this staged. I want this play more in the world than anything in the world right now. Absent to herself, the protagonist tries desperately to reconstruct her past but being a female (non) person in this culture today, it is almost impossible to be anything except a toadstool. AND I FEEL EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. If you've ever wondered what women are about, what's up with us, read this play.

    ”
  • Cheryl Bear: On the edge of/a cure by Julia Barclay-Morton
    “

    Powerful, explosive and liberating piece on sexual violence and gender identity. Absolutely phenomenal!

    Powerful, explosive and liberating piece on sexual violence and gender identity. Absolutely phenomenal!

    ”

Development History

  • Reading, The Rogue Players, 2019
  • Reading, Ivy Theatre Company - 24 Hours of Women!, 2018
  • Reading, Inwood Art Works, 2018