As an intimacy director, it has been a dream to work alongside the creative team of After Sex. Masterfully written by Siofra Dromgoole and directed by the ingenious Izzy Parriss, the show is intimate to its very core, the breadth of which is refreshing to see and exhilarating to have been a part of.
Every production is a different world to integrate intimacy practice within. The core of my practice is communication, compassion and humour, which I incorporate into each production to suit its individual needs. My initial step in the process with the After Sex team and cast was to speak to each member of the creative team and the cast. Intimacy practice can be a very vulnerable space, it is vital to me to create an environment where cast and creatives feel safe and able to express their needs and boundaries, both to myself and with one another. Initial conversations with the creative team include discussing the vision, intention, look and feel of the scenes of an intimate nature. Setting the grounds for a creative collaboration.
What are we showing? What are we not showing? What modesty garments might we need to consider? What is the stage set-up? This allows me to get a strong sense of the scenes that we will be creating and navigating with the performers, so that I can move on to discussing this with them.
Discussion with the performers allows time for them to process the intimate scenes and give informed consent to the potential actions. It also allows for them to have creative input into how their characters would approach these scenes, and to help us craft them with this in mind. All actions are formed with their comfort levels and boundaries at the forefront.
When a boundary is expressed by a performer within the process I think of it as a gift. How generous of someone to be open and vulnerable, and what a brilliant opportunity to find an alternative way to tell the same story. Intimacy is about creative storytelling. There are always a variety of ways to get to the same point.
When working on After Sex, the rehearsal process made space for a lot of improvisation within the building of the characters and their chemistry. While improvisation is not often a technique associated with staging intimate scenes, we ensured the entire practice has had consent embedded into the process. During the rehearsals, I incorporated a variety of intimacy tools to each session. This gave space for the cast to check-in prior to and after each improvisation, and to be able to support the creativity of the improv with their boundaries intact during.
The improvisation has lent itself to the exquisitely talented cast, Antonia Salib and Azan Ahmed, creating such beautifully crafted chemistry between the two. The movement direction collective (consisting of Stephanie Burrell, Nadine Muncey and Rachel Laird) were a fantastic support to the entire process. The music and sound composition by Helen Noir, the lighting by Simeon Miller and set design by Pip Terry undoubtedly elevate the intimacy of the performance further.
This is my third show collaborating with director Izzy Parriss and associate Philippa Lawford alongside Izzy Parriss Productions and Three Sisters Productions. Previous work with the team has included Ikaria and Cold Water.
Tickets for the show are available here https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/after-sex/
