The Directors ’Cuts seasons have become known for showcasing edgy, contemporary theatre, and We Want You To Watch certainly lives up to that reputation. I found it disturbing, fantastical, and thought-provoking by turns. It is also, at times, very funny indeed. Written by Alice Birch and Rashdash (Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen), it is a brave choice of play with which to launch this year’s Directors’ Cuts season, for when it was premiered in London in 2015 it was given a decidedly mixed reception. The Rashdash style is not to everyone’s taste, eschewing single-minded, sustained argument in favour of a scattergun approach that can seem random and incoherent. But this production, directed with considerable élan by Claire O’Reilly, clearly demonstrates that this is a play with real strengths, even if it is a little lacking in depth. There are four, loosely connected scenes.
The action starts with a scream from behind white curtains, on which are projected images of pornography, some ancient, others more modern. The curtains are pulled back to reveal that a young man, trussed up and barely able to speak, is being brutally interrogated by two women, named Pig and Sissy. He has a liking for sadistic porn, and is being accused of the rape and murder of a dental student. We are not spared the gruesome details of her death, though the horror is alleviated by the stylised, choreographed movements of Pig and Sissy, which are comedic and create a sense of unreality. There is a burst of light, and the young man finds his voice. He defends himself in almost poetic language, pointing out that there are many like him who watch violent porn, yet who lead gentle, law-abiding lives. Is there a causal relationship between extreme porn and violent crime? ‘Prove it’, the young man challenges, knowing that they can’t. Nevertheless, Pig and Sissy would like to eradicate porn forever, and they have a plan of sorts.
The mood changes from violent confrontation to no-hold-barred comic fantasy. A large wheelie bin appears, from which emerges a gold-cloaked, tiara-wearing lady with a grand manner. It is the Queen, and Pig and Sissy have kidnapped her in order to force her to sign a decree banning porn. They energetically demonstrate the gymnastic excesses of porn films, but Her Majesty is unimpressed, revealing that she is anti-censorship and pro-freedom of speech. This scene is a comic highlight, though there will be those who will feel that the debates it touches on merit a more considered approach.
The third scene considers the impact of pornography on the mind of a young boy. This is We Want You To Watch in its quietest and most reflective mood, and it was the sequence that I found most thought-provoking. We are bringing children up in a world where sexual relationships have been debased by the prevalence of hardcore pornography, but it is impossible to turn back the clock or to uninvent the internet. What’s to be done? It’s an important question, but We Want You To Watch offers no clear answer. The final scene features an aggressive young hacker who, for reasons that are not entirely clear, enjoys putting Pig and Sissy through a series of high-intensity boot-camp exercises. It ends with the entry of a shambling, confused Hugh Hefner-like figure, who closes the play on an ambiguous, and surprisingly musical note.
Holly Carpenter and Anna-Kate Golding bring great energy and intensity to their portrayals of Pig and Sissy, shifting from broad comedy to urgent seriousness and back again in the twinkling of an eye. They succeed in tying together the disparate elements of the play, and convey the thorny dilemmas associated with arguments for banning porn. Charlie Layburn gives a strong performance as the young man accused of murder, and Mofetoluwa Akande displays great comic skill both as the Queen and as the young hacker. We Want You To Watch has got this year’s Directors’ Cuts season off to a flying start. Catch it if you can. ★★★★☆ Mike Whitton 1st May 2019
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