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Vanessa in Bed

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About this listen

Getting paid $80,000 to stay in bed for 13 weeks? That sounds like a dream job for Vanessa, one of 12 participants chosen for a bedrest study. Played by Karla Souza (How to Get Away with Murder), Vanessa is looking forward to earning extra money while putting her troubles—her mom’s death, an unplanned pregnancy, and a falling out with her cousin/best friend Brigid (Zoë Winters of Succession)—on pause. Vanessa quickly realizes, however, that she cannot outrun her problems...especially with her legs beginning to atrophy. Written by Audible Emerging Playwright Diana Grisanti, Vanessa in Bed is an inventive, subversive new comedy that explores the courageous choices we all must make for the sake of our own humanity and beyond.

Playwright Diana Grisanti was awarded a commission through the Audible Emerging Playwrights Fund, an initiative dedicated to developing innovative original plays driven by language and voice. As an Audible-commissioned playwright, she received funding and creative support to develop Vanessa in Bed.

This audio play contains strong language and deals with mature themes. Listener discretion advised.

©2023 Diana Grisanti (P)2023 AO Media LLC Drama & Plays United States World Literature
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even though the production of this is good, compositionally, the story is a bit of a mess, to such a point that i wasn’t sure what the main message was. feminism? but then that was still a bad version (go join a cult?!). sister love? …ok, i guess i can go for that, but there was so much in there, what about all of that? sister love loses significance. this story tries making you be judgmental about so much (selling out, abortions, using your ex, cheating, corruption, gambling, religion, a bad/no healthcare system, …), by, almost, just mentioning things in random order, somehow all wrapped up in a medical study, but that was not enough. it did not feel like the writer knew how to emphasise things, to make them feel like a coherent message.
overall, not great.

not great

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story trying to say or challenge so much religion, charity, ethical businesses but never getting anywhere with it

not worth reading

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