Ejaculation - Discussions of Female Sexuality is a raw, visceral exploration of female pleasure, boldly confronting the many themes which act as barriers to this rarely discussed topic. The title Ejaculation works on two levels. It details the theatrical form the performance is shaped by – quick fire questions rapidly fired at the audience, occasionally rhetorical and occasionally answered. Finnish performer Essi Rossi intersperses personal reflections with uninhibited observations, as she poses curiosities like "Do you enjoy sex?" "What do you want from sex, and can you say it out loud?" "Are you still a sexual being if you’re not having sex?" and the intrepidly ultimate question – "do you expect ejaculation".
A raw, visceral exploration of female pleasure.
On another level, it explores the last taboo – a sexual act so unpalatable that it was banned from mainstream porn sites. The performance is not solely about the act of ejaculation – it’s more about female perceptions of all aspects of sex and sexuality, about how women can reclaim their sexual identities in a world which neither prioritises us or sees our sexual pleasure as anything more than a route to procreation. We are treated to excerpts of international interviews which Rossi and fellow performer Kivi have conducted for the performance. These include an Iranian woman whose only access to sex was via porn; a New Yorker who feels at odds with herself as a sexual being; a woman from the Austrian Alps who struggles to consider what we need to experience our bodies as something valuable and pleasurable, and a sex worker who wants to shatter societal gender norms through her work.
The air is palpable as Kivi enhances the ambiance through a series of musical interludes. As we listen to the voiceovers narrating their experiences, Rossi uses her hands to trace the the lines and curves of a painted female form on stage – a homage to women taking back ownership and pleasure from our own bodies. In this sense, the performance becomes both traditional theatre and a live art installation. Rossi exudes confidence and empowerment, though she tells us that this is a new phenomenon for her.
Essi Rossi dominates the stage in a most understated way – she’s always in control, and her confidence encases us in a comfortable embrace as we internalise the themes being discussed. Kivi is clearly talented, and it would be nice to have her more involved – she sits to the side of the stage and provides the briefest of melodic harmonies as the mood in the room ebbs and flows. Despite being a fairly niche piece, this is a stimulating exploration of femaleness and empowerment which will sit in your psyche for some time afterward.
