Pansexualism on the high seas
Remember, what happens on the ship stays on the ship – because Titanic is a naughty little play that is out and about in more ways than one.
Playing at the Newtown Theatre this February, the production takes a humorous look at how parents and children mess each other up – using some unusual props like dildos, a lesbian bread fetish and a hunky sailor in underwear.
The show is gayer than Christmas and was written by cult American playwright Christopher Durang. What makes this production so special is that the play Naomi In The Living Room will also be shown in the same viewing.
Director Jonathan Wald said in Titanic the character Teddy has problems and on board the ship he loses his clothes and then his virginity – it’s very sexy.
“There’s sex in every imaginable combination – gay, lesbian, straight – and some you definitely haven’t imagined,” he said.
“There are some very strange fetishes, including a tinfoil fetish and another for Shirley Temple. It’s a tradition of bedroom farces that characters spend a lot of time out of their clothes, and often it’s completely gratuitous.
“Titanic is no exception and it actually makes a joke out of the gratuitousness – there’s a scene where there is a large crash, as if the boat has hit an iceberg, and the characters run screaming back and forth across the stage, with one of them mysteriously losing his clothes every time he crosses.”
In the second production Naomi gives her son and his wife a tour of her house, and turns into the in-law from hell. Together these plays present a very funny look at some very dysfunctional and yet very recognisable families.
The show stars Nick Curnow, Megan Drury and Shannon Ellis, but like every great comedy there’s a real message being conveyed.
“These plays are about the rigidity of people’s behaviour – particularly the so-called adults. They’re so convinced of their own ideas about the world, they can’t see the reality in front of their eyes,” Wald said.
“The plays are also about the consequences of repressing our sexuality – when we hide our true desires, chaos ensues.”
info: The season runs from Thursday 21 February till Saturday 8 March. Tickets start at $28. Bookings on 1300 306 776 or www.mca-tix.com.
