Directorial wunderkind Sebastian Nübling sets Pornography against a vast, fragmented image of Brueghel’s Tower of Babel. This imposing backdrop underscores the fractured state of a city in chaos and a community alienated from itself, desperately seeking ways to connect.

Pornography captures Britain as it crashes from the euphoria and promise of the 2012 Olympics announcement into the devastation of the 7/7 terrorist attacks. Written by Simon Stephens, one of Britain’s most brilliant new playwrights, and performed by one of Europe’s most acclaimed companies, this stark and shattering play captures a portrait of a fractured, insecure Britain.

Pornography is the pornography of everyday life in an overloaded imagist culture. It is about people living in a western metropolis: one city, one day, seven stories. Olivier Award-winner Stephens describes it thus: “It’s about transgression. All of these characters are forced to cross a certain border in a sexual, criminal or personal way.”

The seven stories serve as a countdown to the catastrophic attack on London. Each playlet focuses on a different individual, dramatising their life in the lead up to the tragedy. These are stories of everyday happenings, of otherwise untold, touching moments in the lives of people on the brink of catastrophe.

In the last 30 years Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg has consistently produced thrilling new theatre of the highest quality for a wide audience with work by a host of notable directors including Peter Zadek, Jérôme Savary, Luc Bondy, Frank Castorf, Christoph Marthaler and Sebastian Nübling, here making his Australian debut.

Performed in German
Surtitled in English

WARNING:
Adult concepts and simulated sexual activity
Frequent course language
Cigarette smoking (tobacco free)

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE HOUSE PROGRAM
Pornography.pdf ( pdf file, 920kb)