From the razor-sharp pen of Fringe First winner David Finnigan (Kill Climate Deniers) comes 44 Sex Acts in One Week, a fruity apocalyptic rom-com where intergenerational feminism and the climate crisis collide in unexpected ways. Some seriously naughty actors go down on microphones, mangos and melons in this slippery and subversive take on a classic radio play, a zesty response to humanity’s decision to go harder and faster towards the end of the world as we know it.
Celina is a journalist stuck writing clickbait for a lifestyle blog, and it falls to her to road test a new book, The 44 Sex Acts that Will Change Your Life. All she has to do is have sex 44 different ways by Friday – the only problem is she needs a partner. And the only person available is her nemesis, brooding animal activist/office mail boy Alab Delusa. Sworn enemies, they now have one week to perform an Olympian feat and explore the endlessly undulating terrain of sex, from BDSM to role-play, from polyamory to exhibitionism. Can all this extra friction between them strike real sparks?
Close your eyes (if you must), have your ears felt up by foley effects, and wonder what it might be to peg someone in a camping supplies store at 10am on a Wednesday. 44 Sex Acts stars four of Australia’s funniest actors at the top of their game: Amber McMahon, Aaron Tsindos, Nancy Dennis, Rebecca Massey.
The best theatre you’ll see isn’t necessarily forged on the biggest stages, nor does a show need a big budget to be bombastic or to have terribly earnest storylines and deeply nuanced characters in order to be powerful. 44 Sex Acts in One Week is a testament to all of the above. The actors share great chemistry and the joy and momentum of the theatrical spectacle is stripped bare to its primal beating heart – with some bells and whistles thrown in – ★★★★ Time Out
This audacious production was developed by two of Australia’s most loved comediennes: Green Room Award winner Rebecca Massey (ABC TV’s Utopia) and Helpmann Award winner, Sheridan Harbridge (Prima Facie).
Massey comments, The radio play enabled us to get around the icky sticky problem of doing sex on stage. All the sex acts are performed live – on fruit. We’ve got the sticky but no icky. Harbridge says, Audiences have to use their imagination, but in a play with forty-four sex acts, that’s probably better. It’s an aural rather than an oral fest.
44 Sex Acts in One Week is the second part of David Finnigan’s ‘Carbon 2000 Trilogy’ of which Kill Climate Deniers was the first.
