The Pillow Book

Anyone in Brittany over the next couple of weeks should catch this new adaptation of the Pillow Book which is currently performing at the CACM in Rennais. The Pillow Book is one of my favourite films and the stage play does not dissapoint nor in any way hold back from the the sexiness of movie. If anything its far more steamier, the nude scenes are longer and the actress playing Nagiko is possibly the most stunning woman I've ever seen perform nude (taking over from sylvia camarda).

The plot follows the film to an extent but waters down a lot of the background about Nagiko's life and after a breif introduction about the characters and condensed history Jerome enters after only about 5 minutes. The dialogue follows the film (and subtitles) and its not long before we are treated to the first of many fully nude scenes between the 2 leads. Nagiko brings Jerome back to her appartment and dances seductively for him stripping away her clothes until she is fully nude. At which point she undresses Jerome realising his skin is the perfect canvass for her. Sex is implied but performed in such a way that the audience sees various poses of the 2 performers.

After sex Jerome lays asleep on the bed, completely naked. Nagiko, still naked herself, walks across the stage to her dresser and comes back with her ink and brushes. She spreads Jeromes legs and kneels in between them looking over his naked body and begins to paint on him. The silence and mood of the scene are stunning, you can sense the sexual tension in the room. My wife and I were sat in the second row and had a perfect view across Jeromes body to the lovely Nagiko and her perfect breasts. After a couple of minutes Jerome stirs and begins to wake, Nagiko convinces him to lay still as she conitunes to paint over the whole front of his body.

After about 5 minutes or so she makes him stand up as she goes to get her camera. He stands centre stage with his arms and legs spead showing beautiful calligraphy drawn all over his body. When Nagiko returns her camera is hooked up to a screen at the edge of the stage which shows her work and she seemingly can't help focus on his shaven pubic region where Nagiko has obviously spent a lot time. The detail is staggering and she has even painted a thin line down his penis. A few years ago at uni I modelled for my then girlfriend in an art project where I was bodypainted and I found it a real turn on, how the guy playing Jerome managed to stave off an erection whilst having his cock painted by a beautiful naked woman is anyones guess.

The rest of the play follows the film, Nagiko uses Jeromes body as a canvass sending him to publishers who strip him naked to read her work. The show lasts over 2 hours and I'd say there's at least an hour of full nudity with both Nagiko and Jerome throughout the play. Will keep an eye on their facebook group to see if they post any photo's or videos, really hope it takes off and tours.

Masturbation Remote

I love this show, its a play called masturbation remote and is basically about a couple in apartment who seem to have their sex lives, (as well as other aspects of their lives) ruled through a TV which doesn't ever seem to get a reception. Its funny and sexy and has 2 great looking people acting in it. The guy, Jonathon, is naked throughout the full hour long piece and seems absolutely comfortable. the girl, Talya, keeps her underwear on for the first half hour or so as she teases Jonathon but seemingly becomes more shy for the latter part of the show when she strips naked herself.

Sand

This is prt of a piece called sand, basically it involves a man and a woman stark naked on stage together in the dark using 1 solitary lightbulb to periodically illuminate certain parts of each others bodies. It lasts for almost an hour and is very sexy, the woman is absolutely gorgeous and has great curves. The guy in the piece is Vincent Morelle from Libido so he has no problems about showing off his body and appearing with beautiful women.

Montre moi ta Pina

This is a great play for cfnm, there's a great scene where the madam makes 2 guys strip off to expose their penises then begins to talk about then, laughing, pointing and stroking at them before actually grabbing them! She then continues her speach whilst pulling and playing around with their cocks in her hands, the guy on the left seems to enjoy it much more than the other guy, giving the odd smile her way. The whole scen lasts for about 10 minutes then she lets them go. I've commented on here before about guys doing sexy scenes and managing to not get an erection, this one is in the same mould, more so as it actually involves a woman playing with their cocks for a full 10 minutes whilst they're on display. the guys must be made of stone!

the Waiting Room

This is by Krystian Lupa and is currently touring across France. It's a story about a group of junkies who take drugs and have sex, there's a great scene where they are trying to film a porno with one guy and 2 girls. There's also a cool interview with some of the cast ontheir website.

I Am Curious

This is from the 2008 performance at the Edinburgh fesitval, the review was written for the Alternative Art Magazine at the time, (courtesey of Laura)

"Sometimes you attend these fringe plays with a degree of caution, anyone who knows the films will know the amount of sex and nudity involved and cetrain troupes tend not to hold back when it comes to their performance. Anyone who went along to see I Am Curious wanting to catch an eyeful of young flesh will not have been disappointed. The star 'Lena' treats us to unrestricted views of her milky skin and athletic physique for the full 2 hour run time of the show, aided by 2 actors who in turn play the parts of all the sexual partners she has had in her life, both by the way are also fully nude for the duration. The sex scenes are slow and almost too realistic but the foreplay and post sex scenes are steamy and build up an air of tension like no other similar scale production I've seen this year. For anyone familiar with the films, yes there is platting of pubic hair and kissing of a flaccid penis (though how the actor remains flaccid is anyones guess) but the most erotic moment has to be the penultimate scene in which Lena and her partner take to bodypainting each other. This is a fascinating scene and beautifully played out by the 2 young actors who seem to have no qualms about every inch of their bodies being prodded and played with and covered with paint. A joy to watch."

Between Us

I caught this in Belgium a few years back and loved it, the whole piece is perfromed by 2 women and last for about an hour and a half. at first they are both fully clothed but slowly over the piece they both take items of clothing off until they are naked. Glad to see this was now available on dvd, is great to watch. I love the bit when the pull the girl up from the audience, and there is something strangely sexy about the red tights!

Trechos do Espetaculo

Ok so someone sent me this video of a performance by a group in Brazil. Thought it was quite clever how they imitate sex in a pagan like way with the wreath and the shaft used as genitals.

Interview with Luara Polley and Tom Satowski, stars of "the Nude Scene"

A huge thank you to Laura for sending me this, an interview she did with the skinny - a Scottish entertainment newspaper about the play.

Following catching their performance in the premier of “the Nude Scene” this weekend I met up with the writers and stars Laura Polley and Tom Satowski to discuss the play.

Q. So guys, what prompted you to write “the Nude Scene”?

LP: It’s actually the third play we’ve tried to write together but it had so much more substance than our previous efforts

TS: yeah, we’ve both been in plays before with nude scenes and it seems to attract a lot of focus, we thought it would be a good idea to create a play based on 2 actors rehearsing a nude scene, to try and teach the audience that for an actor, it shouldn’t be a big deal.

Q. Can I ask what plays you’ve done before that required you to be nude?

LP: Well to be honest we actually met whilst doing Equus together at college

TS: That’s right, that was the first nude scene I had done, since then I’ve done “Trainspotting” and “I am Curious”

Q. I caught “I am Curious” at the fringe, that was pretty heavily sexed I thought

TS: A lot of people have said that to me, the bodypainting scene in particular I always get asked about

LP: It is sexy to watch

TS: Like I say though, you’re in character, and you’ve rehearsed it hundreds of times, it loses its edge for the actors, pretty much the essence of what this play is about.

Q.  Of course. Back to this play then, I don’t think I’m alone in saying the stripping scene at the start was very sexy, did you intend it to play out like that?

LP: I suppose we kinda knew it would

TS: Yeah and it’s a good way to start it, It shows that seeing clothes gradually getting discarded creates a sense of the erotic but then once we are both naked, and for the next hour the sexiness seems to dwindle away.

LP: That’s right. We rehearsed it various different ways but the slowness of it key. Its also about being normal, I’m not up there wearing suspenders and fishnets, its more subtle than that. I’m wearing a normal skirt with a normal pair of tights underneath because that’s what I always wear.

Q. An then there is Cara, your director, was it always intended to have a 3^rd person in the play?

TS: Not at first to be honest, but the way we wanted it to go there had to be someone there telling us what to do

Q. She add’s some nice relief to any sexual tension that may be built up

LP: that’s true as well, we tried to make her dialogue witty and crude, and June (Wallace) played the part so well.

Q. She give’s a pretty thorough commentary of both your bodies, were you both comfortable with that?

LP: Why not, I know I’m no DD chested super model, I’m a normal girl with bumps and curves. I comfortable in my body so having it on display is no big deal to me.

TS: Same here, there’s no point in lying about anything. When she’s talking about my penis theres no point in her saying its enormous, everyone can see its not!

Q. Glad you brought up the penis actually, and by the way I’ve seen smaller, but there are a few scenes- watching Laura strip, having June try and turn you on by indulging in erotic fiction, playing naked twister at the end; when it must have, how shall I say it, started to swell?

TS: The start of the play is the toughest, watching her strip and having to stand naked in front of her it can be difficult to stay focused, she’s a beautiful girl, I’d be lying if said otherwise

LP: Aw, thanks!

TS: As for the dialogue part, by that time I’m well into the character and I know every next line that’s coming so its so bad. June is a very sexy woman though and very suggestive when shes playing the part

Q. I’ll say, I don’t mind admitting having to adjust my seating at that part!

TS: Ha, we had a bit of fun with it in rehearsals. I think at times she was trying her best to give me an erection, stroking the inside of my leg and blowing at my balls. I did get a bit twitchy a few times. The twister scene is a bit exciting I guess too

LP: When we did it in rehearsals I think we both got a bit turned on a few times!

TS: God that’s right, I always seemed to end up with your hair tickling into my crotch, I’m not made of ice you know!

LP: (laughs)

TS: It looks improvised but it’s very well choreographed. We’ve deliberately kept our bits away from each other.

Q. I thought the twister scene was fantastic, you all seemed to really enjoy it, it was sexy and funny

LP: that’s the intention, I think by that point the audience is well aware the play isn’t about sex and we’re not all of a sudden going to start doing it, we worried it was a little long, we’re playing for nearly 10 minutes but nobody seemed to mind.

TS: yeah I think we could have cut it down a bit, but there’s some great dialogue whilst we playing so it would be a shame to waste it

Q. And the middle, which I guess plays like an intermission, creates a real sense of ease among the audience.

LP: That was good to see, initially we were going to have a proper intermission with us mingling with the crowd, squeezing in at the bar, striking up conversations all totally nude, who knows maybe one day we’ll work that in

TS: I think that would be fun to do, I have a scene in my head of a bar full of people chatting away and two random nudes just blended in as if nothing’s happening. I always like plays that break the fourth wall.

Q. And coming out at the end to take your bows, was that spur of the moment remaining naked for that?

LP: Kinda, we toyed with the idea of it but had 2 robes set aside. When we came off stage we couldn’t find them. Tom wanted to put his boxers on but the stage hand had taken all our clothes into the changing room

TS: At that point your out of character, I know it sounds odd but for the first time its me the actor being nude on stage as opposed to me the character. It felt a bit weird to be honest.

Q. So whats next for the play?

LP: We’re going to take it to London, maybe the Camden fringe or something, then hopefully Edinburgh festival later this year.

TS: We’ll see what it develops into, everyone has been positive with the concept so that’s encouraging

Q. Well I certainly enjoyed it, and wish you every success with it in the coming year.

Nude Scene

Saw this at a theatre in Edinburgh over the weekend and thought it was a fantastic idea. Basically it is a play within a play type thing where there is a nude scene between 2 of the actors - a guy and girl. There is only 3 people in the performance the actor, actress and director and the play is about the actor and actress becoming comfortable being naked around each other and rehearsing the scene.

The play starts with the director Cara, who is an older woman telling the actor and actress (who are in their mid 20's) to strip naked and get to know eaxh others bodies. It's a fabulous opening to a play and sets the tone perfectly. The actress, Zoe, is beautiful and undresses very sexily. Not thats its supposed to be oversexed, just the way she does it is great and the clothes she is wearing helps too. She takes her top off and stands in her bra until Mike, the actor takes his top off. They smile at each other and Mike begins to loosen his belt, as he does this Zoe steps out of her heels and unzips her skirt. Mike takes his trousers and shoes off and Zoe does the same with her skirt. She is now standing wearing only her underwear and a sexy pair of tights which she then peels off. Finally under direction from Cara they both remove their underwear and stand facing each other naked.

For the remainder of the play neither of them puts a stitch of clothing back on, Cara takes turns of pointing out features of both their bodies, which includes a complete review of both Mike's penis and Zoe's breasts and then invites both Mike and Zoe to touch each other, telling them they have to be comfortable with this and not allow for any surprises when they perform. You could tell both actors were a bit reserved about this but it played out beautifully.

Cara then leads them both on a conversation about sex and turn on's telling them to get everything out in the open. As Zoe begins to talk about her love for being tied up Mike tries to cover himself up, supposedly getting an erection and admitting hearing girls talk about sex is a big turn on for him. Cara tells him to move his hands away and allow her and Zoe (and everyone in the theatre) to see his penis, she then kneels in front of him and talks to his genitals, very explicitly about her own sex life, and her own fetishes. Every time Mike tries to cover his stuff she slaps his hand out of the way. its turns into quite a comical scene, dunno if he was supposed to or not but the actor playing Mike did get semi hard at one point thought only for minute.

After all the talking and touching excersises Cara tells the actors to carry on being nude through the rest of ther afternoon which involves them eating their lunch together, making phone calls, and just generally chatting. It's weird but it does kind of put everyone at ease and you suddenly get the point in the whole thing, the nudity becomes irrelevant, its almost as if you dont notice it anymore.

When Cara comes back in she has a bag with her telling them its a surprise, she opens it up and brings out Twister! They both smile and agree to play, Cara leads the game and spins the wheel and soon Mike and Zoe are entwined with each other on the twister board. Cara then talks at them again about how they fell being naked and so close with each other, they both accept they are now fine with the nudity at which point she tells them they can stand up. In doing this Zoe is all smiles and they chat away, Cara notes that Zoe now seems completely comfortable with it all, then turns to Mike, commenting on the fact that he is soft telling him she is now convinced he will be able to perform in the nude without any "accidents"

The lights dim and the play ends with the 3 actors coming out, amazingly Mike and Zoe are still naked as they come out to take their bows, i'd never seen any actors do that before, it was quite powerful. A great message in the play about becoming at ease with nudity and a play i'd love to see develop into a bigger production.

Blind Passion

This piece is brilliant, it lasts for half an hour and its in three 10 minute sections. in the first section the dancers are clothed, in the second they are in their underwear and in the third they are fully naked together. the dances are exactly the same for all 3 sections.

The naked dance is fantastic, the woman is gorgeous and have a great figure, the fact that they are blidfolded just adds to the sexiness of it. There are some pretty full on groping scenes - ass, tits, cock the lot but its done so beautifully.