Particle.news
Download on the App Store

‘Porn Play’ Review: Ambika Mod Anchors a Provocative Royal Court Premiere

Critics single out Ambika Mod’s fearless lead performance in a challenging new play.

Overview

  • Sophia Chetin-Leuner’s Porn Play is now running in the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, confronting porn addiction, female desire and stigma.
  • Josie Rourke directs on Yimei Zhao’s plush, fabric-sensitive conversation-pit set, with audiences asked to wear shoe covers to protect the surfaces.
  • Reviews report graphic sexual content and explicit descriptions, with trigger warnings for pornography, masturbation and sexual violence.
  • Critics praise Mod’s harrowing portrayal of Ani while describing the production’s tone as deliberately uneven; The Times gave it three stars.
  • The run continues into mid-December in London, with Will Close, Lizzy Connolly and Asif Khan taking multiple supporting roles.