Phone Whore — A One Act Play With Frequent Interruptions
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014: Theatre Review
Opening up the fourth wall before the curtain rises is Cameryn Moore’s one-woman show exploring desire, thoughts, actions, and society. Phone Whore charts a working evening of Larissa, a phone-sex operator working from home for a ‘no-taboo’ operator.
Drawing on years of experience, Moore immediately pulls in the audience, inviting everyone through the fourth wall and into her bedsit as she introduces her line of work.
What spins out over the next hour is far more than an opportunity to talk dirty on stage. Bringing her open nature to Larissa, Moore creates an emotional bond with the audience, as Larissa creates her temporary bonds with the callers looking for… well, that’s one point the play actually brings up. What are the callers looking for, and what does it say that they have to turn to a phone line?
Of course any talk about the darker side of humanity and sexuality will tread in many taboos. It is to Moore’s credit both that she doesn’t shy away from these areas, nor does she sensationalise or demonise those practices. Instead they are held up as a reflection of society as a whole… A reflection that society does itself a disservice by attempting to hide.
While the material is not easy, and you are going to leave with more questions than when you went in, Moore makes it incredibly easy to watch. From a personalised welcome as you enter the theatre space on the Grassmarket, through to the question and answer session (held in the bar after the show), Moore opens up herself to the audience at every stage. Of course anyone who has been around certain blocks long enough will notice this is negotiation and discussion before the event, the event, and then the aftercare, in action. Yes, this is a ‘message’ show, but it is a subtle message that seeks to educate through example.
The mark of a good show is that you continue to think over the show and find new layers in the hours (and days) after the show, then you must consider making an appointment with the Phone Whore.
* * * * (4 Stars)
Phone Whore: A One Act Play With Frequent Interruptions
Sweet Grassmarket, August 1–24 (not 12), 1745–1840
Tickets available via EdFringe
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