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Theatre Review: NSFW

November 22nd, 2014     by Jessie Hale     Comments

Actors: (l to r) James Graham, Jessica Greenberg, Aaron Stern and Patrick Galligan. Photo Credit: Karri North

NSFW, by Lucy Kirkwood (Studio 180)

The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West, Toronto

To November 30

Making its North American premiere at The Theatre Centre in Toronto, NSFW (an acronym for “not safe for work”) is a black comedy that skewers magazine culture while also tackling themes of choice feminism, youth unemployment, underage sexuality, and workplace sexual harassment—all in 90 minutes.

The first two acts take place at Doghouse Magazine, a British “lad mag” equivalent to Maxim or FHM (indeed, the initials spell out “DHM”), dealing with a massive problem: a young employee, Sam (Aaron Stern), has approved photos of what turns out to be a 14-year-old girl. Watching Aidan (Patrick Galligan), DHM’s slimy editor, frantically shouting out instructions as he tries to get ahead of the crisis is extremely entertaining, and his uncomfortable meeting with Mr. Bradshaw (Ian D. Clark), the outraged, lower-class father of the photographed girl, is an outstanding performance by both actors. Jessica Greenberg also performs spectacularly in the role of Aidan’s editorial assistant, Charlotte, who is great at her job but clearly deeply uncomfortable with the tension between her workplace and her feminist values.

The third act moves to the offices of Electra, a women’s magazine roughly equivalent to Cosmopolitan, where Sam (fired from DHM) is interviewing for a position with Miranda (Susan Coyne), the mag’s glamorously put-together editor. “We have a feminist agenda,” Miranda says, even while she bullies Sam into enumerating the physical flaws of female celebrities. Miranda is a curious mix of overconfident and insecure, “jokingly” coming on to Sam, asking him inappropriate personal questions and obsessively applying lotion to her skin.

At both Electra and DHM, young workers are forced to choose between their values and their paycheques. Charlotte, one of the few female employees at DHM, refers to a “women’s group” she belongs to, and says that she lies to them about what she does for a living. You’re rooting for her to stand up to her creepy boss — but, after all, she can’t go back to internships and work placements. Meanwhile, Sam resists the idea of searching for flaws in a photo of a beautiful actress — “She’s perfect! It’s her job to be perfect!” he exclaims—but after nine months of unemployment, what choice does he have?

Another vital theme in the play is the watering-down of the word “feminist” to the point of meaninglessness. Aidan draws on feminist language as he justifies the provocative images in his magazine, arguing that the women (and even young girls) are choosing to be photographed and are empowered by the decision. Meanwhile, Miranda touts Electra’s feminist values, but the mag is clearly driven by the not-so-feminist goal of exploiting women’s insecurities to sell products. Both magazines are aware that print culture is fading and that they must change with the times to retain readership, but by “change,” they mean engage with more fans on social media, not seriously challenge beauty standards or the patriarchy.

The Toronto production of NSFW retains the British setting of the original, which is a shame. The accents and references to English North-South relations make the action feel somewhat removed from the Canadian context, but the themes are extremely relevant to the media industry in Toronto, and probably every major city around the world. The play also loses some momentum with the change of scenery in the third act. Nonetheless, NSFW is an entertaining, thought-provoking piece of theatre, with excellent performances by all actors (but particularly Galligan and Coyne as the respective bosses). Catch it at The Theatre Centre in Toronto until November 30.

Tags: art, event listings, media savvy, review, theatre

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