For three days only, The Birmingham Rep hosted the cheekiest and most daring comedic performance I have ever seen. Jaws were dropped, tears rolled down with laughter, and many a cheek blushed while watching ‘Lady Lust’.
‘Lady Lust’ was lustful in so many ways. Created and performed by East 15 Acting School graduate Sarah Hamilton Baker, the theatre piece was edgy, special and very relevant to today’s context. How many women watch pornography? Well, according to Sarah, the numbers are very low, but Sarah was very happy to tell us all about what porn she watches and, to a certain extent, what website to use. I got the feeling that she had an affinity for the vintage style.
For a whole fifty minutes, Sarah took us on a sex-mad, high-frequency journey that made some great points about the porn industry, and in between nudity and the enactment of sex positions, she managed to squeeze out some juicy statistics that both entertained and educated us. It was rated 18+, and I’ve never been this glad to be over that age.
Throughout ‘Lady Lust’, many scenes were positively controversial and thought-provoking too, but the most daring action that an actor could ever do was done by Sarah during the performance. Being naked was very daring, of course, but Sarah really pushed boundaries when she asked the audience if they watched porn, and not only did she ask, she egged us on further by asking us to put our hand up to confirm it. Before you start wondering… I will not tell you if my arm erected itself, or not. Some things should just be left inside four walls.
‘Lady Lust’ was created and performed by Sarah, and Anna Poole was its director, who has worked with Chapter Arts Theatre, National Theatre Wales, and others, and both women are great examples of creating/making theatre that has no limits and has the intention to educate an audience. Both are also part of the Rep Foundry programme, which nurtures emerging artists into the world of theatre helping them create their own pieces of work.
“It’s refreshingly truthful but a little bit awkward” said the programme, and it couldn’t be more correct, particularly as Sarah literally bore all, not just herself but she also exposed the very scandalous yet relevant issue of the objectivising of women in a male dominant industry that is porn.
This production is so current and vital that it needs to be seen around the world. Lady Lust plays at The Birmingham Rep until 23rd Januaryby Alex Da Silva | @AlexMDaSilva
I am passionate person whose keen interest lends itself to Theatre. I am currently in rehearsals for the tour of Hamlet, being performed in England, Wales and Germany. I am playing Hamlet.
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I am half Portuguese, hence the surname. I lived there for 17 years. Most people ask me why did I move here? Well being Gay in a catholic predominant country is not easy or recommended.
