Celebrating queer joy and the family we choose, Claire and best friend Dan make a drunken pact at a 21st birthday party - he will be her sperm donor if she’s ever in a lesbian relationship when she’s older. Flash forward a decade and Dan, in a relationship himself with girlfriend Naomi who doesn’t want children, is ready to hono u r the agreement when Claire and girlfriend Lou struggle to find a donor. As IVF treatments, ante - natal classes and the looming realities of parenthood test the foursome’s
friendship and relationships, Eggs Aren’t That Easy To Make explores our limits and boundaries, while highlighting the additional obstacles that LGBTQ+ couples face with warmth, heart and humour.
Written by Maria Telnikoff ( My Dad Wears A Dress, Nottingham Playhouse and All The Men Are Going To Hate Me Soho Theatre) and directed by Lauren Tranter ( With Nail and Without Nail Camden Peoples Theatre and Close Enough to Touch Theatre 503), Eggs Aren’t That Easy To Make debuted at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe to critical acclaim.
We caught up with Maria to learn more.
What can you tell me about Eggs Aren't That Easy To Make and the inspiration behind the play?
“Eggs Aren’t That Easy To Make” is an ensemble play about a lesbian couple, Claire and Lou, who are beginning the process of starting a family. It’s a queer rom-com about how they end up asking their best friend, Dan, to be the sperm donor and the dynamics between the four characters: Claire, Lou, Dan and Naomi (Dan’s partner). I am really interested in family, it’s a big theme that runs through my work. I’m especially interested in non-heteronormative or nuclear families and representing them on the stage. As a queer person, I feel that there’s a real dearth of stories that represent queer parents, especially as main characters in their own stories (rather than just quippy side characters). There aren’t many models to follow, as a queer , for what starting a family might look like. This feeling became the impetus for writing a play about queer family.
“Eggs Aren’t That Easy To Make” is an ensemble play about a lesbian couple, Claire and Lou, who are beginning the process of starting a family. It’s a queer rom-com about how they end up asking their best friend, Dan, to be the sperm donor and the dynamics between the four characters: Claire, Lou, Dan and Naomi (Dan’s partner). I am really interested in family, it’s a big theme that runs through my work. I’m especially interested in non-heteronormative or nuclear families and representing them on the stage. As a queer person, I feel that there’s a real dearth of stories that represent queer parents, especially as main characters in their own stories (rather than just quippy side characters). There aren’t many models to follow, as a queer , for what starting a family might look like. This feeling became the impetus for writing a play about queer family.
You focus on the 'personal as a microcosm of the societal.' Which specific 'small' moment in the IVF or donor process felt like the biggest hurdle to translate for a theatre audience?
I think there’s a massive conversation about cost which we didn’t go into in the show. That is a huge reason why someone would go for a friend as their sperm donor rather than someone from a sperm bank. One thing we explore in the play is the difficulty of being able to pick a donor when there are so many options, so many pros and cons of each person. It’s overwhelming. Much like online dating, a lot of choice sometimes makes it harder to make a decision.
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| Photo by Fabiano Waters. |
As the writer, did you find yourself 'siding' with any one of the four characters more than the others during the rehearsals? Who was the hardest to defend?
The characters are like children, I love them all equally. But I think I found myself really “siding” with Lou. I think Lou is someone who loves deeply but also has strong ideas of what she wants and doesn’t want. She’s firm with her boundaries and is loving but isn’t afraid of speaking her mind.
The characters are like children, I love them all equally. But I think I found myself really “siding” with Lou. I think Lou is someone who loves deeply but also has strong ideas of what she wants and doesn’t want. She’s firm with her boundaries and is loving but isn’t afraid of speaking her mind.
Queer stories often lean heavily into trauma. How did you protect the 'warmth and heart' of this story while still being honest about the 'additional obstacles' LGBTQ+ couples face?
I think the rom-com framing of the show allows us to lean into the joy and comedy of the story. There are plenty of plays about queer hardship and we wanted to make one where everything is okay in the end (spoilers!). And you know it will be because it’s a rom-com. The play isn’t a comprehensive guide to having a family as a queer person and doesn’t claim to address all the ins and outs of what can be a complex process. It’s about love, joy, humanity, forgiving each other and an attempt to normalise queer families and futures so that, hopefully and eventually, they’ll feel like a given rather than an exception to the rule.
We often talk about chosen family as a safety net. In Eggs Aren’t That Easy To Make, that net starts to fray. How do you define the 'limit' of a friendship when a biological child enters the equation?
I think we’re entering an era where friendship is often just as important (if not, sometimes more important) than romantic relationships. I think it’s very relatable that you would want your friends to be a big part of your life, even when a baby comes along. There’s a bit of a feeling along the older generation that having a child means saying goodbye to your social life and your friendships. I don’t know anyone who would really want that, if they could choose. We put a lot of pressure on the nuclear family, and I think that can cause issues. Having a community around you is the solution to this problem but also comes with its own difficulties. Community means having uncomfortable conversations and compromising. The play explores that.
I think we’re entering an era where friendship is often just as important (if not, sometimes more important) than romantic relationships. I think it’s very relatable that you would want your friends to be a big part of your life, even when a baby comes along. There’s a bit of a feeling along the older generation that having a child means saying goodbye to your social life and your friendships. I don’t know anyone who would really want that, if they could choose. We put a lot of pressure on the nuclear family, and I think that can cause issues. Having a community around you is the solution to this problem but also comes with its own difficulties. Community means having uncomfortable conversations and compromising. The play explores that.
·Besides the obvious biological hurdle, what is the 'hardest' part about 'making' an egg (or a family) in this play—is it the money, the law, or the ego?
I think the hardest part about making a family is compromise. All the characters in the play love each other but their relationships are put under pressure by the concept of the arrival of a baby. I think it’s being able to put your own wants and needs aside and do what’s best for the family unit and therefore for the child to be. The characters learn this through the course of the play.
You’ve moved from solo-focused work to this ensemble piece. What did you learn about the 'geometry' of a four-person friendship while writing Eggs Aren’t That Easy To Make?
I think of this as my first big girl play (my pronouns are she/they so I use the term girl loosely) just because it’s such a different task writing a solo show for yourself to perform and writing a four hander. I think I definitely got better at writing in different voices. All the characters have their own idiosyncrasies and ways of expressing themselves. It was also a fun challenge to show the ways in which the characters behave and speak differently when they’re with different characters. The language between Claire and Lou, a couple who’ve been in a long term relationship for many years, is different to the language between, say, Lou and Naomi.
Big Sofa puts actors at the forefront. Was there a specific moment during development where an actor’s reaction changed a plot point or a boundary between Claire, Dan, Lou, or Naomi?
A lot has changed since the first draft of the script (thank goodness!) and that is all because of working with our amazing actors and brilliant director, Lauren Tranter. There were lots of moments. I think we realised through the process that we loved seeing the four of the actors on stage together and so I ended up writing more group scenes to show their dynamic as a friendship group. That was fun to write!
After the critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe, how has the play evolved? Did audience reactions to the 'foursome' change how you viewed the ending?
The play evolved a lot over the course of the Fringe. We made some quite dramatic changes after the previews in Edinburgh that changed the pace of the play. We sped up the transitions between scenes to give it more of a filmic quality - cut to Naomi and Lou in the park! Since Edinburgh, we’ve enjoyed the fact that we will have more time at Riverside Studios. We’ve added scenes and lengthened some out, allowing us to sit a bit more in their world, to get comfortable in it, to feel like.
If this play were a piece of furniture in a real-life living room, what would it be? (A thrifted velvet couch? A flat-pack chair that’s missing one screw?)
Not to steal from our theatre company name, but the play would be a big sofa. One of those big, squashy, brown leather sofas, worn from years of people sitting on them and hanging out. It would, however, also have a fun, multi-coloured, stripy blanket draped over it at all times, which has been hand-crocheted by a talented lesbian.
In Maria's opinion, what is the number one rule for being a sperm donor for a best friend?
Goodness, I don’t know! That’s why I wrote this play…
What was the first piece of theatre you remember having a big impact on you?
The first thing I ever watched was Noddy Live on Stage at De Montfort Hall in Leicester. Apparently my dad got worried because I didn’t blink once. I was enraptured. Ever since then, I’ve loved live theatre. There’s nothing else like it.
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| Esther Carr. Photo by Fabiano Waters. |
What keeps you inspired?
I’d say watching plays and seeing my friends. I recently watched Sound of Music at the Curve in Leicester and I cried three times. The music is so beautiful and timeless. The staging was incredible. And the acting was insanely good. When you watch a show and feel a new lease of life after watching it is the best feeling. I was skipping all the way home. Also seeing my friends keeps me inspired. They’re always doing cool and interesting things.
I’d say watching plays and seeing my friends. I recently watched Sound of Music at the Curve in Leicester and I cried three times. The music is so beautiful and timeless. The staging was incredible. And the acting was insanely good. When you watch a show and feel a new lease of life after watching it is the best feeling. I was skipping all the way home. Also seeing my friends keeps me inspired. They’re always doing cool and interesting things.
What message would you like an audience member to leave with from seeing the play?
I don’t think that there’s one message, but I would like the audience to leave with a greater love for their friends, family and romantic partner/s (if you have them). I want you to hug your friend extra tight before saying goodbye and getting on the tube. I want you to call your mum and tell her you love her. I want us to remember that all the love we need is already there. We just need to tend to it.
Eggs Aren't That Easy To Make runs at Riverside Studios in London from Monday 30th March until Sunday 12th April 2026. Tickets are available from https://riversidestudios.co.uk/whats-on/mE-eggs-arent-that-easy-to-make/
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