Theatre by the Lake, Keswick
Inspired by Helen Rebanks’ bestselling memoir, Hannah Khalil’s play foregrounds the women holding everything together
While anthropologists have made links between farming and the rise of patriarchal social structures, it’s impossible to deny the role that women have historically played in the agricultural workforce. In The Farmer’s Wife, Hannah Khalil’s new play inspired by Helen Rebanks’ bestselling memoir of the same name, men are entirely absent from the narrative. The focus, instead, is squarely on the women quietly holding everything together – who are usually anonymous and often unseen.
The story follows three generations of women living on a family farm, their unrelenting daily workload drawing attention to the cracks that exist in a system entrenched in tradition and routine. The trio of women, simply referred to as Young, Older and Oldest, are played tenaciously by Eireann Devlin, Christine Entwisle and Roberta Kerr respectively. They hold both the heaviness and joy of an existence rooted in the land, which can be unforgiving, particularly in the context of a rapidly changing world.
