We sat down with Emma, the producer and director of Jumper Bumps, a debut play from Amelia Rodger about abortion, coercive relationships and female friendships. This is a play by women for women; the play we wanted to see when we were young adults, having to make difficult decisions without knowing all the facts.
What personal or artistic impulse made you feel this was the right time—and the right team—to bring Jumper Bumps to life?
In all my work I want to be platforming something new, a story or perspective that isn’t often heard. Amelia sent me this script last year, and I was so moved by the way she wrote these characters, their struggles and their choices – it normalises hard subjects in a way that feels so poignant yet so natural. The state of abortion rights across the world made this feel like such a vital story to tell.
Personally, I immediately connected with the script and the women inside it. I am so excited by its potential to entertain, educate and express this narrative onstage.
How did you navigate the emotional complexity of directing a play that tackles abortion and coercive relationships while maintaining its sense of levity and intimacy?
A lot of this work has been done in the writing, which is making my job easier! We follow two best friends, Atlanta and Eris, dealing with these incredibly hard life moments together. I think true best friends are the ones who make you laugh even in the worst moments, and these two certainly do that for each other.
As a director, it’s my job to find the moments where we need to sit in the heaviness and then balance that with the moments of light and joy. Our performers are amazing at delivering that!
In what ways do you think female friendship, as portrayed in this story, can act as both a mirror and a survival tool in the face of hard choices?
I think true friends allow us to see the best and worst of ourselves. Friends like Atlanta and Eris become family, and when hard choices need to be made they can be your support system. Sometimes this is amazing, and in other times they’re maybe showing you a harsh truth you’re not ready for quite yet…
I’ve certainly had those friends in my life, and in the hard moments they are exactly who you need to be there.
What conversations or emotional reactions are you hoping audiences carry with them after leaving the theatre?
I hope audiences keep having conversations about coercive control in relationships and how easily it can fly under the radar. I hope they talk about birth control, abortion and the importance of being able to have knowledge and access to both. I hope they see Eris and Atlanta and see a bit of themselves, or their friends, or their past. I hope they keep talking.
How has your commitment to feminist and queer storytelling influenced your creative choices in this production?
How long is a piece of string! I’m constantly asking questions about the “right” way to do things. This is my first year directing for the fringe and I’m doing a lot of interrogating of my practice as a whole – directing traditionally works on a very patriarchal model and I’m finding out what my version of that looks like in order to work ethically, collaboratively and with care. That impacts everything I do and every choice I make at all stages.
What have you learned about your own perspective on autonomy and vulnerability through the process of directing Jumper Bumps?
This show is continuing to teach me about the strength of being vulnerable, the importance of rights and the vitality of having good friends to look out for you. In all honesty, what it’s mostly done is make me more angry about ongoing violence against women and restriction of abortion rights. It feels so vital to be making this work today.
Jumper Bumps by Amelia Rodger will premiere at Fringe 2025 with a run at Gilded Balloon Appleton Tower, 16:20 Friday 1 to Monday 25 August.