In a powerful new production at London's Royal Court theatre, Ambika Mod delivers a riveting performance as a university academic grappling with a secret pornography addiction that threatens to consume her life.
A Compelling Portrait of Modern Addiction
Sophia Chetin-Leuner's bold new drama Porn Play explores the troubling world of 30-year-old academic Ani, whose compulsive porn consumption has already destroyed her relationship and now threatens her friendships. The play opens with a painfully intimate scene where Ani's friend reassures her that watching extreme pornography 'isn't that deep' - only to wake up and discover Ani masturbating to porn on her phone beside her.
Like Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag character, Ani struggles with a voracious porn habit, but Chetin-Leuner's treatment delves deeper into the psychological damage and isolation of addiction. The drama captures the wearying compulsion of an addict, showing how the search for release has transformed into a grim, inescapable routine.
Between Digital and Physical Worlds
Director Josie Rourke and playwright Chetin-Leuner skillfully toggle between digital and physical realms to emphasize the seductive, instant gratification of internet porn. As Bo Burnham's observation suggests, 'anything that brain of yours can think of can be found' online, and Ani's brain has been fundamentally rewired by her constant searching.
Yimei Zhao's inspired design transforms the Royal Court's upstairs theatre into a padded den staged in the round. The concentric, vulva-like space becomes both a cocoon where Ani escapes into her rituals and a vortex that threatens to swallow her completely. The set cleverly allows Ani to conceal her laptop and belongings between the folds of the cushioned floor.
Ani's addiction exists amid professional stress and grief following her mother's death, which she recognizes as triggers, yet she consistently finds ways to hide behind other explanations for her behaviour.
Ethical Questions and Powerful Performances
As a Milton scholar, Ani grapples with questions of lost innocence and the sexual politics of Paradise Lost, while simultaneously wrestling with the ethical dilemma of separating art from artist. This intellectual framework mirrors her personal justification that violent pornography 'is all fake' despite her real-world views about women.
Ambika Mod's performance masterfully conveys Ani's isolation and emptiness, making her character both moving and unsettling. Will Close, Lizzy Connolly and Asif Khan deftly handle multiple supporting roles, with sharply delineated movement direction by Wayne McGregor.
The play balances tragedy, horror and comedy effectively, particularly in a painfully intimate scene where Ani's boyfriend holds her phone while she masturbates. While a gynaecological appointment scene doesn't quite achieve the same impact, the production's strands come together powerfully in climactic speeches between Ani and her father.
Porn Play confirms Sophia Chetin-Leuner as a clear-sighted chronicler of complex relationships, including the one we have with ourselves. The production runs at the Royal Court theatre in London until 13 December.
