PORNOGRAPHY
As the Traverse embarks on its first Edinburgh Festival Fringe season under the artistic directorship of Dominic Hill, Steve Cramer talks to acclaimed dramatist Simon Stephens, writer of Pornography, about 7/7 and a new definition of the pornographic
e live today in a world where the
impersonal practice of sex — formerly
an intimate matter — is betrayed by the very commonalities of spoken language. The ‘money shot' is a phrase used across the culture to describe any climactic moment. Many people profess themselves baffled by the age of the abbreviation and acronym when you mention the (i8 and CAP. but all of them smile knowingly at the letters Bl)SM.
Playwright Simon Stephens is — if you will — hardcore on the subject of pornography. yet beyond the title of his new play. the topic ligures minimally in its action. Instead. pornography is seen as a symbolic symptom of our disaffection. our isolation from other people and capacity to erase the humanity of those around us. treating other people as if they were abstracts. rather than flesh and blood human beings.
With Pornography about to make its UK
premiere as part of this year‘s Traverse Fringe programme. Stephens reflects upon the play’s only production. thus far. in Germany.
‘We live in pornographic times.‘ he says. 'The dramaturge for the production in Berlin sent me this fantastic article from a magazine where the
journalist had selected close tip photographs of
people‘s laces in pornographic images and magazine advertisements. All you could see were the faces. The challenge was to tell which came from which. and it was difficult. The atomisation of our culture. its fixation on aspirational pleasure is all pervasive. it's absolutely everywhere.‘
Stephens has. in recent years. become one of the most celebrated writers in linglish theatre. but his work. beyond AT("s production of One Minute in 2003. a piece about the search for an abducted
child. has yet to see a major production north of
the border. The Traverse. in netting this British premiere. has pulled off something of a coup. A co-production with Birmingham Repertory Theatre. the piece was originally produced by the mighty l)eutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg.
Stephens' earlier work. including Herons and Country Music. were often about complex emotional relationships among small, intimate groups of people. Yet. increasingly. his oeuvre has assumed larger political dimensions. This has proved disquieting for left and right alike. In plays such as last year‘s Motortmm, Stephens" work has proved as willing to question the motivation behind such bodies as the anti-war movement as it has multinational capitalism.
‘There was an element of advocating the sovereignty of Saddam Hussein in the anti-war movement.~ Stephens explains. ‘What I‘m saying is. it’s possible to recognise the moral crisis of colonialism. but also to say. “You know what, the Zimbabwe govemment is fucked." I’m from
‘THE VIOLENCE OF THE 7” BOMBERS SEEMS TO ME EXTREMELY BRITISH'
17—31 JU 2008 THE LIST 21