VCR Love
nytheatre.com review by Ed Malin
February 17, 2012
Talking about pornography is taboo and dirty, right?
After seeing David Lawson's articulate and entertaining new solo show VCR Love you may change your mind. His stories are honest, charming, vulnerable, and sometimes scary.
Are you among the generation who fast-forwarded (we are talking about VCRs, after all) to the part of the movie Animal House to see the nude scenes when your parents weren't looking? Did you wait around all day watching MTV so you could record your favorite risque video? What lengths did you go to in order to explore the things not visible to the naked eye? David Lawson's observations argue that technology helping to make pornography and other fantasy items readily available has made us better human beings.
The character in this story is somehow forced into Learning Disabled classes, where he gains a unique perspective on intimacy. He wonders how his blind and deaf classmates get in the mood for love. Many years later, he finds himself in a bookstore holding a book of Braille pornography.
However, there is certainly an awkward side to the new forms of self-discovery. As the internet age dawned, were you in a chatroom, lying about your age and gender, only to discover that you had been flirting with an equally anonymous member of your own family?
Or perhaps you have compared your girlfriend to a porn star and were surprised when she viewed this as a compliment. Are you a woman tuning in to recent pornographic films in which "she" could care less if "he" is satisfied?
As the story ends, we see how pornography can even be useful to other species. Yes, scientists confirm that videos of happily mating pandas ("Panda Porn") can encourage other pandas to do the same.
As David Lawson points out in the show, it is supposedly difficult to discuss any of these topics in mixed company. I think that if you see this show, so divertingly full of plain talk and lacking in graphic images, you will want to start talking.
You can catch the show at The Brick now or later this month at Dixon Place.
