NSFW, written by Lucy Kirkwood, is a play that reinforces feminist views while seriously questioning others. The NNT production comes to life under the directing eye of Natalie Henderson, who does justice to the more serious topics raised without sacrificing Kirkwood’s bawdy humour.
NSFW is set across two offices – one belongs to the lad’s mag ‘The Doghouse’ and the other to the women’s beauty magazine ‘Electra.’ Business files and papers are swapped for make-up mirrors and reed infusers in-line with gender stereotypes. Aside from this, little of the mis-en-scene changes from one office to the other – the same garish yellow light washes the stage and the same overly sexualised cover photos of women line the walls.
“Puns about breasts give way to proclamations of shock and disgust”
The raucous banter of the predominantly male employees at ‘The Doghouse’ – which at times borders on sexual harassment – comes to an abrupt end when they discover a shocking fact about the age of the nude girl of their latest cover. Puns about breasts give way to proclamations of shock and disgust as they embark on a frantic attempt to rectify their mistake.
A scene that really struck me was the confrontation between the smooth and sycophantic Aidan (Zack Collins) and the girl’s working-class father, Mr Bradshaw (Ethan McCrystal). The dialogue highlights a minefield of feminist issues – from consent to victim-blaming – as Aidan makes every attempt to exonerate the publication from blame. Much like Mr Bradshaw I found myself increasingly agitated by, but at times succumbing to, Aidan’s inexhaustible and nauseating arguments. I was surprised by how easily I could be convinced by sexist thoughts when they were expressed in a certain way.
“Some women enjoy pandering to the male gaze”
Henderson emphasises Kirkwood’s scathing criticisms of sexual objectification and the obsession with youthfulness, but also gives due attention to the subtler moral grey areas of her script. One such example is the idea that some women enjoy pandering to the male gaze. This issue is embodied by ‘Electra’ editor, Miranda, who is excellently portrayed by Ellen Dennis.
One can try to dismiss Miranda’s lamentations about no longer getting cat-called as resulting purely from the way women have been socialised to find validation in their sex appeal – I certainly did. But the question remains as to why a self-aware and intelligent woman would yield so easily to such ideologies.
Is the acute desire to be sexually valued by men a legitimate one, or just another symptom of the f***d-up world we live in? And even if it’s the latter, do we have any right to police the actions of women who want to be on the cover of publications like ‘The Doghouse.’ It’s precisely because NSFW forces us to ask ourselves these questions that it is a must-see production.
9/10
Ayisha Sharma
All images courtesy of Nottingham New Theatre Official Facebook Page.
For more reviews follow Impact Magazine on Facebook and Twitter.
