NSFW (Not Safe for Work)

Cast

Crew

Director's Notes

This is my first attempt at directing a play and I'll tell you how that came about. I went to the Harold Pinter Theatre to see "Chimerica" by Lucy Kirkwood and came away really impressed with the scale and dexterity of the production. It is an epic tale spanning across two continents and the intrigue of what became of a man caught on camera walking in front of the tanks before the Tiananmen square massacre.

At Christmas 2013 my daughter Ellie gave me a couple of play scripts, one of which was NSFW. She had to explain the title as "not safe for work" and the use of that acronym to warn about the contents of e-mails or attachments not being appropriate for viewing in the workplace. I read the play and it just seemed so immediate. I have long celebrated the fact that my kids are all grown up now and I don't have the dilemma of policing their internet use. I am appalled by the accessibility of pornography but also by the way the net seems to be used to abuse bully or intimidate. I wonder about the affects of that pornography on the lives of young people and their relationships. We all know about this state of affairs and there is no need for me to bang on about it. Lucy Kirkwood's play highlights a sad state of affairs related not only to the attitudes of men towards women but also the behaviour of women in that environment.

The author described the play as starting off funny and getting ever more serious as it goes on. The antics at Doghouse magazine really beggar belief. Do young men really talk like that? I asked some young men and they confirmed somewhat sheepishly that "Yes some of them do."

The character Charlotte at one point says that the situation which has arisen makes her feel sad. That is how I feel when I think about Emily Davidson and the Suffragette movement and their struggles for female emancipation to come to this point. On the other hand we have had a hilarious time putting this production together and hope that audiences won't be too dumbstruck to laugh out loud.

Well there it is. I am so lucky to be part of a wonderful group of people in Bench Theatre who have helped to stage this play. We place it before you for your entertainment but also for your contemplation. Thank you for coming to see it.

Sue Dawes

Reviews

Portsmouth NewsJames Butler

NSFW

A darkly comic look at the way that both sexes are responsible for objectifying women, Bench Theatre drove home the message of the play. The first two acts were set in lad's mag Doghouse, which accidentally published a photograph of a minor.

Mark Wakeman as the publication's top dog Aidan found the humour in his morally corrupt character, but also set the pace for his castmates' funny meltdowns.

Merging Acts One and Two was a logical choice, but a lengthy set change suspended belief.

The third act, set in women's magazine Electra, was helmed by Megan Green as the editor Miranda. She fully committed to the role of the shallow cougar, stripping down to lacy underwear and dancing around the stage.

With this production, Bench Theatre have proven that amateur dramatics isn't just for family and friends. Their focus on good acting and simple staging is a formula that should attract a wider local audience. Until Saturday.

James Butler, Portsmouth News, 24th April 2015

RemotegoatJill Lawrie

Satirical Look at Modern Britain

Writer/producer Lucy Kirkwood is renowned for her dark sense of humour and hard-hitting plays that tackle controversial subjects such as sex trafficking, cannibalism, rape, murder and the horrors of war. NSFW is no exception and touches on pornography, exploitation and hypocrisy. It is a satirical tirade on modern Britain's cut-throat media world.

The play is initially set in the offices of 'Doghouse', a men's soft porn publication and then moves on to 'Electra' a fun girly magazine. Kirkwood looks at the disturbing laddish mags routinely objectifying sexuality and soft porn material that is now freely available, even to young children. Subjects also featured include bullied staff, lack of employment opportunities for young talented graduates and an invasion of privacy in recession hit Britain. Bad language abounds in the testosterone-fuelled offices of 'Doghouse' where principles are sacrificed and the boss delights in his sadistic power. Nine months later Sam, the employee who took the rap for signing off copy of an underage glamour girl, is now seeking a position with ruthless Miranda the sleek editor of 'Electra'. Here he is horribly uncomfortable being faced with having to find physical flaws in female celebrities bodies and to open up about his sexual feelings and relationship issues.

Award-winning Bench theatre, have produced a stylish set complete with an impressive array of glossy pictures, props and costumes. Sue Dawes directs a strong cast of 6, each one admirably stepping up to the challenge. Attractive Daisy Dawes plays the over-qualified closet feminist Charlotte with Thomas Hall as her raunchy colleague Rupert cruelly manipulated into trialling challenges for the publication. Vulnerable, exposed and sensitive Sam is played by Stuart Reilly squirming at the painful invasion of his privacy. A great performance, as always, from Mark Wakeman taking on the role of scumbag boss Aidan. Competent, devious and forceful - Wakeman is superb as he handles this character. Andrew Caple (Mr Bradshaw) plays the outraged father of the young topless model but is no match for the disturbingly threatening Aidan. Reilly and Hall both reappear in the second act which is dominated by the patronizing Miranda brilliantly executed by brave Megan Green, who gamely cavorts in black lacey underwear by the end of the show!

This emotional and lively production all adds up to another successful production where two very different magazine publishers give us a snapshot of the savage media world, which in fact is now struggling to survive.

Jill Lawrie, Remotegoat, 24th April 2015