After a successful NYC Fringe run, comedian and storyteller Bailey Swilley’s A Baby For Me? No Thank You, Please! AKA AB4M?NTYP! is back in The Big Apple at Soho Playhouse, September 18 & 19.
With a projector, lots of jokes and some special effects, AB4M?NTYP! is a theatrical and comedic story of one child-free woman’s journey to self-discovery and acceptance. Bailey Swilley will perform the comedy meets body horror show exploring the lifelong pressure from friends, family, and strangers to be a mother, and how a medical emergency made her reflect on the complexities of the decision to be (or not be) a mother.
After a childhood of being told she’d grow up to be a great mother, the pressure only grew after her wedding even though she was well into adulthood and had always insisted she didn’t want that! To the most important people in her life, getting married meant that she’d come to her senses and would change her mind.
When her grandmother unleashes a motherhood campaign onto her, Bailey feels hopeless and like she’s going to let people—and maybe even herself—down if she can’t figure this out.
Bailey Swilley (Photo credit: Noah Eberhart)
Knowing she can’t be the only person who feels this onslaught of pressure, Bailey starts soul-searching by scrolling on TikTok, reading parenthood and childfree self-help books, pouring over think pieces and Reddit threads, listening to countless advice podcasts and talking with the women she respects the most. However, it’s a very unusual gynecological situation that provides enlightenment, with a side of body horror.
Per Swilley, “this show is deeply honest and vulnerable, and sometimes I worry that my audiences will judge me or think I’m a jerk because of this stance, but ultimately, it’s my truth…Also, the show is funny, so if people think badly of me, at least they’ll be laughing!”
Check out the show this September at the Soho Playhouse!
Mentions: Shows 7pm ET. Tickets HERE. Location: SOHO PLAYHOUSE | 15 Vandam St, New York, NY 10013. Give Bailey a FOLLOW. Feed the algo.