“None of these words are our own. They have been taken, word for word, from over 300 interviews and anonymous online submissions.” That’s what the background reads, projected behind a bed where the actors are already sitting, ready and waiting, as the audience first walks in. Attempting to break down some of the misconceptions about virginity in our society, from the get go
Expresses impactful stories in an engaging way
The creativity with which the stories are told here is endless. Some have the audience gripped with laughter while others managed to bring a grave silence over the room. Despite the fact that most of the scenes come from a female point of view, they still manage to cover a wide range of perspectives and topics, from age to consent to sexuality to religion. Every interview is related in an original style that never fails to engage the audience, experimenting with the effects of lights, sound and staging. Some of the ideas have been done before but others, for example when two actors used the sound of violins to pull the invisible puppet strings on the others, are both individual and creative.
Hopping through so many stories keeps the play fast paced, the scenes broken only by overhead speakers playing references to virginity in the media. But these brilliant actors deal with it effortlessly. They jump from one scene to another flawlessly and embrace their next character without faltering, giving each one a unique flare.
Don’t let the feminine nature of the topic scare you, this is a play that suits all genders. The message may not be a revelation for all, but then they are not the audience this play is ultimately aiming to reach out to. To those people, don’t go in expecting anything outstanding, but instead a simple message, passed across with some very clever use of technical elements. Cherry has succeeded in expressing these impactful stories in an engaging way and takes one little step towards breaking that wall that society has built up around the notion of virginity.
