Review: THE SEX PARTY, Menier Chocolate Factory

Photo credit: Alastair Muir

Terry Johnson’s new play at the Menier Chocolate Factory promises a lot with a title as bare-faced as The Sex Party.

Four couples – some strangers, some friends, all straight - assemble at the elegant home of Alex (Jason Merrells) for a sex party. Characters float between the unseen party occurring in the living room and the onstage kitchen where the real drama happens. The main tension is seemingly between the host and his former lover Gilly (Lisa Dwan), whose husband (John Hopkins) and their agreement “not to swap” frustrates any hope of rekindling that lost spark. That is until the neat symmetry of four heterosexual cis couples is upset by the arrival of an odd number – Lucy (Pooya Mohseni), a trans woman.

Although this is a new world premiere from Terry Johnson, this play already feels dated. The assembled cast of party-goers are a band of cliches – from the sex-crazed Russian trophy wife (Amanda Ryan) to the toking hippy (Will Barton) that the host laments (to delighted chuckles from the Menier audience) “should never have moved to Brighton”. Johnson’s dialogue trundles along punctuated by laborious jokes with all the subtlety of a Carry On film, but none of the genuine humour that makes that franchise actually watchable.

Introducing a trans character as a shocking bombshell at the end of the first act is somewhat tasteless and, once again, dated. After the introduction of Lucy, whose pronouns the party-goers debate in an unfunny exchange that feels plucked from the 1970s, the play takes a turn into a baffling debate about gatekeeping heterosexuality at an orgy.

The host of the party preaches about sexual liberation and unburdening oneself from shame, but the most daring thing that seems to happen at this party in the unseen living room-cum-playroom is a bit of voyeurism. There are tentative stabs at dissecting non-monogamy and polyamory but like all threads of conversation and debate in Johnson’s play, comments are briefly barked between characters and swiftly abandoned.

The cast do their best with the script – Jason Merrells plays the host Alex well, with an easy confident swagger. Molly Osborne is also notable as Alex’s charming and bubbly partner, although most of her characterisation is proffered while she is offstage by her older, male lover. Controlling men are a real feature of Johnson’s play, and they really put a dampener on the party vibes.

Worthy of praise is Tim Shortall’s genuinely breathtaking set design – the detail in the beautiful, expensive kitchen he has created is gorgeous, and his costume design brings definition to the characters where Johnson’s script falls short. The space is well-lit by Ben Ormerod and John Leonard’s sound design contributes a jaunty soundtrack of themed songs covering the rather jarring blackout transitions.

There is nothing daring or new in this insight into the suburban middle class sex party scene. This play promises to ‘surprise, perhaps shock’ and it certainly was shocking how boring an orgy could be. If you’re looking for titillation and to open your mind up to forbidden sensual delights, you probably won’t find it at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

** Two stars

Reviewed by: Livvy Perrett

The Sex Party plays at Menier Chocolate Factory until 7 January 2023, with tickets available here.