Pornography

From August 2008

Where does it go from here?
Is it down to the lake I fear?

Love Plus One, Haircut 100 (1981)

Towards the end of Pornography by Simon Stephens one of the characters says "This makes absolutely no sense to me at all". Watching this production performed by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company I was relieved to know that I was not the only one having difficulty following the action.

A warning of sorts is contained in the brief stage directions which precede the script: this play can be performed by any number of actors and in any order. An unconventional approach and one that begs the question: why bother with a scripts at all? But then most of Shakespeare's plots are impenetrable nonsense and he still packs 'em in at Stratford-upon-Avon & the Globe.

Pornography is set in July 2005: the week of Live 8, G8, the 2012 Olympics announcement & the terrorist bombings of 7/7. More generally it attempts to illustrate the breakdown of society & alienation felt by many in modern Britain. A play with many ambitions and I'm not entirely sure that it achieves any of them. In the absence of a plot the play consists of 6 dialogues, some - the schoolboy & the retired academic, the latter played by the wonderful Sheila Reid - more engaging than others. Aside from some perplexing references to Blue Mountain coffee none of these dialogues interlink or conclude in any way.

None of this is to say that there is not much to be admired here not least the line "What is the point of buying aubergines when there are people in the world who dress like that?" But unless you know the background, unless you know what Simon Stephens is trying to convey you would be left with a sense of bewilderment.

Perhaps that's the idea.


Pornography, Traverse Theatre, various times until 24th August