We Want You to Watch

Last updated

We Want You to Watch
Written by Alice Birch and RashDash
Date premiered2015 (2015)
Place premieredTemporary Theatre (Royal National Theatre), London
Subject Pornography

We Want You to Watch is a 2015 play by Alice Birch developed with the theatre company, RashDash. The play is a feminist critique of pornography. We Want You to Watch premiered at the National Theatre's Temporary Theatre under the direction of Caroline Steinbeis.

Contents

Development

RashDash, a feminist theatre company composed of Helen Goalen and Abbi Greenland, [1] received funding from the West Yorkshire Playhouse to work with a playwright in developing a new work. They brought in Alice Birch to collaborate. [2] We Want You to Watch was commissioned by The National Theatre and supported using public funding from the Arts Council England. [3]

Plot summary

Over the course of the play, two women named Pig and Sissy try to eradicate internet pornography. [4] Pig and Sissy use extreme means to ban pornography and mitigate its harmful effects including kidnapping the Queen to get her to ban pornography and attempting to make an American hacker turn off the internet. [5] Though the play critiques pornography, its characters maintain that it is "pro-sex." [6]

Production history

We Want You to Watch premiered in 2015 at the National Theatre's Temporary Theatre in London. [7] The production was directed by Caroline Steinbeis [8] [9] and starred Goalen and Greenland as Pig and Sissy. [10] [11] The production also featured Bettrys Jones, Helena Lymbery, Lloyd Everitt, and Adam Charteris. [12]

In 2019, the play was revived by the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School under the direction of Claire O’Reilly. [13] That same year, the University of Greenwich's Bathway Theatre Company performed We Want You to Watch at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. [14]

Critical reception

Reviewing the 2015 National Theatre's production, The Guardian 's Michael Billington and The Independent 's Paul Taylor both sympathised with the play's intentions, but felt that its uncompromising approach did not allow for a more nuanced critique of pornography. [4] [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocco Siffredi</span> Italian pornographic actor (born 1964)

Rocco Siffredi is an Italian pornographic actor, director and producer. Known as the "Italian Stallion", Siffredi has starred in more than 1,300 pornographic films since 1986.

Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism, is a feminist movement centering on the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component of women's freedom. They oppose legal or social efforts to control sexual activities between consenting adults, whether they are initiated by the government, other feminists, opponents of feminism, or any other institution. They embrace sexual minority groups, endorsing the value of coalition-building with marginalized groups. Sex-positive feminism is connected with the sex-positive movement. Sex-positive feminism brings together anti-censorship activists, LGBT activists, feminist scholars, producers of pornography and erotica, among others. Sex-positive feminists believe that prostitution can be a positive experience if workers are treated with respect, and agree that sex work should not be criminalized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Parish</span> British politician (born 1956)

Neil Quentin Gordon Parish is a British farmer and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton from 2010 until his resignation in 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he was previously a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 1999 to 2009. Parish chaired the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee from 2015 until his resignation from the House of Commons.

<i>Blue Movie</i> 1969 film by Andy Warhol

Blue Movie is a 1969 American erotic film written, produced and directed by Andy Warhol. It is the first adult erotic film depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States, and is regarded as a seminal film in the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984), which, before the legalization of pornography in Denmark on July 1, 1969, started on June 12, 1969 with the release of Blue Movie at the Elgin Theater, and later, the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre, in New York City. Blue Movie helped inaugurate the "porno chic" phenomenon, in which porn was publicly discussed by celebrities and taken seriously by film critics, in modern American culture, and shortly thereafter, in many other countries throughout the world. According to Warhol, Blue Movie was a major influence in the making of Last Tango in Paris, an internationally controversial erotic drama film starring Marlon Brando and released a few years after Blue Movie was made. Viva and Louis Waldon, playing themselves, starred in Blue Movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pornography</span> Portrayal of sexual subject matter

Pornography has been defined as sexual subject material "such as a picture, video, or text" that is intended for sexual arousal. Indicated for the consumption by adults, pornography depictions have evolved from cave paintings, some forty millennia ago, to virtual reality presentations. A general distinction of adult content is made classifying it as pornography or erotica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YouPorn</span> Free pornographic video sharing website

YouPorn is a free pornographic video sharing website that launched in August 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pornography in India</span>

Pornography in India is restricted and illegal in all form including print media, electronic media, and digital media (OTT). Hosting, displaying, uploading, modifying, publishing, transmitting, storing, updating or sharing pornography is illegal in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Ann</span> American pornographic actress (born 1972)

Lisa Ann Corpora, known professionally as Lisa Ann, is an American retired pornographic film actress and radio personality. She has also worked as a director and talent agent. She parodied former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin in six adult films and a music video. She is a member of the AVN, XRCO, and Urban X Halls of Fame. Ann has been described as one of the most popular and successful pornographic actresses in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keiran Lee</span> British pornographic actor, director and producer (born 1984)

Adam Diksa, better known by his stage name Keiran Lee, is an English pornographic actor, director, and producer who works mainly for Brazzers. He is one of the highest-paid pornographic actors. He has received several awards, including an AVN Award for Favourite Male Performer and a UK Adult Film and Television Award for Best Male Actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sasha Grey</span> American former pornographic actress

Marina Ann Hantzis, known professionally as Sasha Grey, is an American actress, model, writer, musician, and former pornographic film actress. She began her acting career in the pornographic film industry, winning 15 awards for her work between 2007 and 2010, including the AVN Award for Female Performer of the Year in 2008. In 2023, she was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylo</span> Internet pornography company

Aylo is an adult entertainment conglomerate owned by Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners. It is primarily involved in internet pornography, operating a number of video sharing websites, and pornographic film studios such as Brazzers, Digital Playground, Men.com, Reality Kings, Sean Cody, and WhyNotBi.com, among others. Aylo's headquarters are located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but the company's corporate structure is divided among entities domiciled in a number of other countries.

Feminist pornography is a genre of film developed by or for those within the sex-positive feminist movement. It was created for the purpose of promoting gender equality by portraying more bodily movements and sexual fantasies of women and members of the LGBT community.

Porn for women, women's porn or women's pornography is pornography aimed specifically at the female market, and often produced by women. It rejects the view that pornography is only for men, and seeks to make porn that women enjoy watching instead of what is being offered in male-centric mainstream pornography.

xHamster is a pornographic media and social networking site headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus. xHamster serves user-submitted pornographic videos, webcam models, pornographic photographs, and erotic literature and incorporates social networking features. xHamster was founded in 2007. With more than 10 million members, it is the fourth-most popular pornography website on the Internet after XVideos, XNXX and Pornhub. As of July 2020, xHamster was the 20th-most trafficked website in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Under the Gun Theater</span> Theater in Chicago, Illinois

Under the Gun Theater is a theater company located in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Angie McMahon and Kevin Mullaney, Under the Gun is a sketch and improvisational comedy theater which opened in Chicago's Lake View community in 2014. The theater was known for its interactive show Comedy Against Humanity, which ended due to legal concerns, based on the game Cards Against Humanity. In September 2017 Under the Gun Theater announced it would partner with the Chicago stand-up comedy institution Lincoln Lodge to focus on producing stand-up comedy shows.

<i>Hot Girls Wanted</i> 2015 American documentary

Hot Girls Wanted is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus. The film follows the lives of several 18- and 19-year-old pornographic actresses. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was released on Netflix on May 29, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pornhub</span> Pornographic video-sharing website owned by Aylo

Pornhub is a Canadian-owned internet pornography video-sharing website, one of several such sites owned by adult entertainment conglomerate Aylo. As of December 2023, Pornhub is the 14th most visited website in the world and the 2nd most visited adult website, after XVideos.

NoFap is a website and community forum that serves as a support group for those who wish to give up pornography and masturbation. Its name comes from the slang term fap, referring to male masturbation. While reasons for this abstinence vary by individual, the main motivation cited is attempting to overcome addiction to pornography, or other compulsive sexual behaviours. Other reasons for abstinence include religious and moral reasons, self-improvement, and physical beliefs that are not supported by medicine.

Alice Birch is a British playwright and screenwriter. Birch has written several plays, including Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. for which she was awarded the George Devine Award for Most Promising New Playwright, and Anatomy of a Suicide for which she won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Birch was also the screenwriter for the film Lady Macbeth and has written for such television shows as Succession, Normal People, and Dead Ringers.

RashDash is a British feminist theatre company. The company was founded by Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen. Becky Wilkie later joined. They have produced and created many works, including We Want You to Watch.

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Jessie (9 September 2016). "RashDash: Dismantling the patriarchy with thought and feeling". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Hutchinson, Charles (13 October 2015). "RashDash take on the rise in violent and degrading pornography in new play We Want To Watch You". York Press. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  3. ↑ Peek, Ian (25 October 2015). "Review - We Want You To Watch". aAh! Magazine. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  4. 1 2 Billington, Michael (16 June 2015). "We Want You to Watch review – fantasies of a porn-free world". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "We Want You To Watch". Time Out London. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  6. ↑ Mountford, Fiona (3 July 2015). "We Want You To Watch theatre review: no real characters or narrative". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Porn on stage and screen – too hot to handle?". The Week UK. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "Would sex be better in a world without pornography?". The Guardian. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Perez, Caroline Criado (3 June 2015). "The new National Theatre show tackling internet pornography". The Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Love, Catherine (16 June 2015). "We Want You to Watch, National Theatre". Catherine Love. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  11. ↑ Trueman, Matt (15 June 2015). "We Want You To Watch (NT, Temporary Theatre)". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  12. ↑ Swain, Marianka (16 June 2015). "We Want You To Watch, National Theatre". theartsdesk.com. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  13. ↑ Davidson, Roanna (7 May 2019). "Review: We Want You to Watch, Wardrobe Theatre". Bristol24/7. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "Greenwich students 'want you to watch' in Edinburgh". University of Greenwich. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  15. ↑ Taylor, Paul (16 June 2015). "We Want You To Watch, National Theatre, review: Extreme look at porn eradication". The Independent . Retrieved 16 November 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.