Guest Blog: Pooya Mohseni Talks Sex, Gender and Humanity in THE SEX PARTY Coming to the Menier Chocolate Factory

The Sex Party, as the title suggests is a story about a party revolving around Sex. Or is it? Terry Johnson's new play delves into what lies beneath our most basic desire: our fears, insecurities and maybe even hope. Hope to connect, to be seen and to be accepted. What happens when people of different generations, backgrounds and identities come together to partake in carnal pleasure as a group? They get a lot more than they bargained for.

Yes, the cast is a dream: consisting of the Academy Award winner, Timothy Hutton, the Golden Globe winner, Amanda Donohoe, and many more talented and seasoned actors, all together, in one big, fabulous, sexy party. But what happens beyond the idea of taking their clothes off, is the negotiation between how much of their souls are they willing to bare and expose their vulnerability and maybe, just possibly, even change their points of view about themselves, as well as others they encounter.

This is the glory of live theatre: the viewer is not just watching a story unfold in a 2D format but is actually immersed in the drama and comedy of humanity, and its awkwardness, as it's happening. The audience is in the heart of the moment that is being shared between the actors and thus forced to ask those same questions of themselves: what would I do if I was in that situation? Would I say that? Do that? Would I react with more compassion and understanding? Would I walk out? Or am I willing to release myself into this journey and surrender to change?

The Sex Party has comedy, not because of gags, but because the characters find themselves in situations that make them feel awkward and dumbfounded, and who doesn't love to laugh at OTHERS acting like fools?! The Sex Party has tragedy, not because anyone dies (well, not on stage) but because it magnifies our societal conditioning and exposes our learned prejudices towards those who are different from us, based on race, sexuality, gender and even their choice of substances they use to relieve their stress and feel more at ease. It is indeed a tragedy when our humanity is blocked by arbitrary rules, birthed by prejudices and then written and handed down as laws and social contracts.

What is timely about this play is that it is baring the cultural disconnects that are becoming more and more obvious these days, possibly galvanised by the presence of social media, in seemingly civilised societies: Who writes the rules? Who has what right? Do we all have equal say in society or do some of us get pushed to the back of the line because our voice, our input and our existence matters less? How do we create a world where everyone has equal voice and equity? How do we convey that there is a needed balance to be struck between free speech and hate speech that undermines the equal rights of others? These questions are not new, but they are being presented in a way that they have not been before, which makes them more difficult to ignore.

What is timeless about The Sex Party is that it exposes the pre-conception of privilege, battle of the sexes, or more accurately genders and how humans, regardless of age, race, gender and other group markers, have blind spots when it comes to their needs and sense of righteousness. While the setting may seem brow-raising, even scandalous to some, the essence of the play is as old as time: our needs, our wants and our desire to belong.

After all, that is what a story is supposed to do: connect us to our own humanity and, as a result, to each other. As an Iranian-American artist of trans experience, I'm proud to be part of this company and invite our viewers to laugh with us, be turned on by us, question themselves and maybe even find some answers, not on the stage, but in their own hearts.

The Sex Party is at the Menier Chocolate Factory from 4 November - 7 January 2023

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