THE TALK
15th - 16th March 2018 21:30pm
A HEADPHONE VERBATIM ROLLERCOASTER. LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX EDUCATION.
What do you wish you’d been taught (or, not) about sex and relationships? Over the last year, playwright Neela Doležalová asked friends and strangers these questions, and they shared their memories and stories. From students to teachers, and doctors to former education secretaries, Neela has listened to people from their teens to their nineties and edited nearly 100 voices into a 60-minute show.
Directed by Kristine Landon-Smith, these very personal interviews form the content for a play that will make you laugh, cry, wince and possibly snort. The interviews have been edited to capture the essence of each voice and the actors perform whilst listening to the recorded material through headphones. This technique allows every breath, every utterance, every idiosyncratic detail of the speaker to be captured by the performer. Once you’ve heard ‘The Talk’, you won’t forget it.
Headphone verbatim theatre is an intimate storytelling method, allowing the audience to enter into other people’s worlds. So, sit back and listen as strangers, politicians, campaigners and school children tell you about their experiences of sex education. From Ed Balls and Nicky Morgan, to inquisitive 11-year-olds and angry 15-year-olds.
Yes, this is political theatre, because sex is political.
Writer: Neela Doležalová
Neela is a playwright and maths teacher with a love of all things awkward. Her writing credits include Playing Fields (Soho Theatre), Lock the Gates (National Youth Theatre), and audio dramas for Roundhouse Radio and Now Press Play. Through her teaching experience Neela became interested in how schools teach about sex and relationships.
Reviews from Neela’s previous shows:
“Dolezalova demonstrates a sharp ear for the comic bizarreness of everyday speech… she can make tragic and comic feeling grate against each other” (Time Out).
“Dolezalova has a great ear for dialogue and great confidence in not spelling everything out…” (The Times).
Director: Kristine Landon-Smith
As co-founder of Tamasha Theatre Kristine’s shows include East is East, The Trouble with Asian Men, Sweet Cider, Wuthering Heights, The House of Bilquis Bibi and The Arrival. Kristine’s freelance credits include work with the Royal Court Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Nitro, Yellow Earth Theatre & The Royal Danish Theatre.
What audiences are saying about ‘The Talk’:
“
‘Totally absorbing.’
‘Utterly brilliant… superb cast.’
‘Fucking great project.’
‘Kind of scary.’
‘A tour de force through 50 years of confusion, ignorance and occasional enlightenment.’”
