Prostitution: The oldest profession in the world, yet it’s not taxed and somehow society seems to blame the suppliers and not the demanders for its existence.
If only those terrible women weren’t offering up their bodies then our society would be such a cleaner place.
I’m not the type to support this opinion, yet I wouldn’t describe myself as feminist. In general my opinion on the sex industry would be to each his own; yet No Tear’s Bound suggests that perhaps we should look at the prostitution industry a little closer and turn around the finger of blame.
Porn stars have the safety of the camera lens and the likes of poledancers are relatively safe away from the mayhem up on their podiums, but Bound works to prove to us the danger these ladies of the night put themselves in every night. From seedy child molesters to power-starved, failures of men; the types of men who attend brothels are not the type any women would like to trust themselves with in a room on their own.
Fallen women with dark pasts; society is not kind to the women who resort to selling their bodies. A litany of crude words exist but how do we describe the men who frequent their dark homes? This dark production which thankfully has its lighthearted moments, is a thoughtful examination on the sisterhood of women flung together in a hopeless situation.
The production itself deserves huge merit. A relatively new production company (established since 2009); No Tears have done a fine job in staging Bound. The cast was surprisingly large given that the play is modern but each actor showed raw talent and great energy on stage. In particular Caroline Harvey’s lovelorn Marolyn and Alison Fitzpatrick’s sassy Jess stood out while Aidan O’Rourke’s Mr. Dolphin gave me the chills.
Bound is at times giddy but then settles down to show the harshness of the sex industry on women for whom life has dealt a bad hand. Not without blame themselves; these ladies give a take on this hidden industry that is depressing, but also, surprisingly uplifting.
Plays at the New Theatre until October 27: Click for details on getting yourself some tickets
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