‘Anatomy of a Suicide’ and How to Break the Vicious Circle of Pain
Alice Birch's play arrives at the TNC under the direction of Glòria Balañà, questioning the ties between trauma, family, and destiny in a powerful production about three lives marked by the same shadow.
Suicide is not just an individual act; it is also an emotional earthquake that can ripple across generations. This idea strikes with force in Anatomy of a Suicide, Alice Birch’s searing play now on stage under the direction of Glòria Balañà. The piece, structured as a dramatic triptych, simultaneously unfolds the stories of three women—Carol, Anna, and Bonnie—who live in different eras but share a painful legacy: suicide as an escape route.
To what extent do emotional and genetic inheritance shape our destiny? Beyond biology, the family environment, silences, unresolved traumas, and interpersonal bonds play a fundamental role in shaping emotional fragility. Through poetic and structurally innovative writing, Birch crafts a narrative where past, present, and future resonate simultaneously, creating a theatrical space that is both intimate and universal. The play is not just about exposing pain, but about deciphering it. Anatomy of a Suicide challenges the mechanisms that perpetuate suffering within families and opens a path toward understanding, prevention, and healing.
Considered one of the most prominent voices in contemporary European playwriting, Alice Birch has built a solid career in theatre, film, and television, with works like [BLANK] and Revolt. She said. Revolt again, and screenplays for series such as Normal People and Dead Ringers. In Anatomy of a Suicide, Birch delivers a surgically precise portrayal of human vulnerability and forces us to confront what is often hidden: that inheritance may weigh heavily, but it need not be a sentence.
A production that shakes, moves, and invites reflection—at a time when talking about mental health can no longer be taboo. More information and tickets are available on the website of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya.