Jerker, King's Head Theatre - ★★★★ - Until November 23, 2019


Jerker is a series of phone calls that begin with the erotic and transform into the emotional and ultimately loving. The play is a defence of sexuality in the face of a culture which can ignore the horrors of war, disease and death, but can bring the full force of its moral judgment to the pursuit of physical pleasure. It is also a strong argument that the physical and sexual always have a component that is a sharing of the self and that society is too quick to deny and dismiss this reality with the labels like 'pornography' or 'debauchery.' The flight from our physicality can ultimately cripple our emotional selves and make us incapable of being emotionally in touch with others. Tibu Fortes as Bert and Tom Joyner as J.R. are both convincing as the pleasure-seeking yet vulnerable protagonists, and it is their performances that make the play work as the story arc is rather predictable. Unfortunately, the director did not always take into account the complicated sight lines of the theatre and Fortes' performance was also often lost to some of the audience. As author Robert Chesley said, "Prudery kills. Nobody ever died from being offended by what they hear or see." This play might test the limits for some, but its sex positive message is as relevant now as when it was written.

 Reviewed by J.C.

  Our Score:  ☆☆☆☆ 

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 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until November 23, 2019
Tue - Sat: 8:45 pm, Sun: 4:45 pm
King's Head Theatre
Nearest tube:Angel
https://system.spektrix.com/kingsheadtheatre/website
Map & Location: 115 Upper St, Islington, London N1 1QN, UK

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