Are You Watching is Georgie Dettmer’s striking debut play, aprovokative exploration of sexual violence and voyeurism sold through 7 scenarios, played out in fragments across the course of this 65 minute piece. We have 2 girls discussing what is implied to be the Gisèle Pelicot case, an actress who has a deepfake of her body created and gradually more and more violent pornography produced with it, a journalist who takes part in an experiment to see how her body reacts to pornography, a son who confronts his father about the reason for his parents separation and a mother whose teenage daughter has gone missing. Whilst all of these stories are distinct in their own right they are linked by the themes of sexual violence and explore arousal, voyeurism and online pornography in their own way.
The structure of the show is intriguing, there are a total of 52 scenes, each lasting just over a minute long. and. Whilst this helps build up the intrigue around each scenario it does make the emotional build up harder, as you begin to feel anything – anger or upset the audience are pulled from this scene and straight into another. Whilst the constant shifts can limit emotional investment in individual stories they allow the production to build up something arguably more unsettling: a cumulative sense of anger. The scenes shown gradually grow in intensity and by the end these vignettes are relentless and there is an overwhelming sense by the end of the show that the issues surrounding sexual violence are far-flung and out of control but also a personal element of how complicit each individual is.
Dettmer’s dialogue feels naturalistic throughout allowing difficult conversations to unfold with an uncomfortable authenticity that makes the play’s themes all the more disturbing.
The numerous parts across the play are played by 6 performers. Only Kosar Ali and Abby McCann do not take on multiple parts. They play the young girls discussing what appears to be Gisèle Pelicot but equally they sit on bunk beds and watch the rest of the show unfold. They flit between childlike innocence and horror surrounded by childlike bed spreads in discussing the case to having conversations that jar coming out of the mouths of such young girls. Their presence becomes a constant reminder that exposure to violence and pornography begins increasingly young, with the play quietly charting the erosion of innocence as they absorb the stories unfolding around them,
The rest of the cast switch from role to role with ease. Lucy McCormick is as convincing as a Hollywood star as she is a grieving mother and Maimuna Memon takes on the role of a content creator in a standalone but unforgettable fragment alongside the journalist participating in research on arousal. Both McCormick and Memon, like the rest of the cast barely stop for breath between characters but convince the audience of their differing roles.
The set is a stark white corridor of tiles which at times looks clinical, with a mirror above the playing space and bright lights at either end, making sure that there is no escaping the action and a literal spotlight is forced upon the themes. The sound design by Xana echoes this and doesn’t let the audience rest easily throughout the piece.
Are You Watching is not an easy watch, nor is it intended to be. Dettmer’s debut play presents a barrage of stories that individually intrigue but collectively overwhelm, creating a powerful sense of the scale and pervasiveness of sexual violence in modern society. Whilst the fragmented structure can make emotional investment in individual narratives challenging, it success in provoking reflection. Unflinching, unsettling and deeply thought -provoking, Are You Watching asks difficult questions about complicity, consumption and the digital world we inhabit, leaving the audience to consider not only what they have witnessed but their place in it.
Are You Watching? is on at The Royal Court Theatre, Jerwood Theatre Upstairs until 4th July. The run is sold out but you can check for returns and find out more here.
If you like this review of Are You Watching? you might also like my review of Redcliffe at Southwark Playhouse, 1536 and Operation Mincemeat.