When Sexual Perversity in Chicago, by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Mamet, was first staged in 1976 it must have really ruffled some feathers. Even today, with a generation home-schooled on Sex and the City and The Sopranos, it still manages to shock.
This one-act play paints a bleak picture of dating in the 1970s. The swinging sixties have passed and it seems that the Chicago singles scene is bursting with confused, resentful twenty-somethings who don’t know what they want or where to get it.
Danny (Ben Griffiths) and Deborah (Kellie Tori) are in the first phase of a romance. Danny’s sexist pal Bernie (David Bramble) and Deborah’s jaded housemate Joan (Eleanor Jones) offer everything but support. As Danny and Deborah’s relationship starts to become unstuck, Bernie’s womanising stories get taller and the chip on Joan’s shoulder gets bigger.
There’s a lot to like about this play, especially Bramble’s memorable performance as the deliciously misogynistic Bernie – exactly the kind of character the audience love to hate, but Mamet isn’t for everyone. This is a fine production of a dark, funny and confronting play – and the music’s great.
For booking details go to Sexual Perversity in Chicago