Deepest Red

Bootycall - must see theatre from Segun Le French

It’s a play about sex and computer games. It’s a play about fantasy blurring with reality. Most of all Bootycall is a play that the writer Segun Le French is convinced that young people will love. And with the input into the script that many young people have had through discussions and workshops with the writer, it certainly sounds like a performance that will speak their language.
Manchester- based Segun Le French has many roles in life. He’s a performance poet, a singer and a writer. I first saw him perform as a part of Brothatalk, a diverse group of talented black and Asian poets who use the medium of poetry and song to discuss relationships. But it is as a playwright that he is making waves at the moment. With its raw language and blunt depiction of young people Bootycall may not suit everyone, but there is little doubt that young people will be pleased to see one of the few plays out there that speaks their language.
I think I can guess what Bootycall is about but you’d better tell me.
It’s actually about a virtual reality game, kind of like Playstation. The game can be played by young men and women and the aim is to get laid. Well that’s the first aim, and then if you are male the next aim is to get a reputation as a player. If you are a woman though the next aim is to avoid anybody finding out about the sex.
Where did the idea come from?
Steven Luckie, who directs the play, asked me to write a play for young people. I had done a few workshops in prisons and young offenders institutions in the past and was really interested in people’s attitudes when talking about sex. Attitudes seem to have changed quite a bit since I was a teenager. Things that would have been considered out of order then are treated as completely normal now. I also met a few people who had been abused as children and saw how their views on sex had been warped by their experiences. I ran some workshops where we discussed sex and attitudes to sex with young people. In fact quite a few ideas they came up with have been used in the play in different forms.

What surprised you most in the workshops?There was a striking difference in attitudes between young men and young women; I guess that was something that hadn’t changed since I was a teenager. Men and women seem to have radically different views on sex and relationships and what they want out of both. But what had changed was the language they used. After talking to them and listening to the words that are current now, I knew I would like to do something about language and how that shapes how you do deal with people.

Is Bootycall going to be seen as controversial?Oh yeah. The language is very strong; it’s the sort of language that I don’t use every day. There is a lot of swearing in it, homophobia and misogynistic attitudes. Older black people will probably dislike it. I think younger people of any race will love it though. It is presenting things in a language that they feel familiar with. By writing this play I am not saying it is wrong to say nigger, bitch etc. but I wanted to look at the results of talking like that. The sort of people who got up in arms about the BBC’s Shoot the Messenger are going to hate it. You need to have a sense of humour. I think you need to deal with young people using the way they are communicating and use their ways to present an angle that they not have considered.

You are also a poet and singer, do you prefer playwriting?It depends on the aim of what I am doing. I get a real sense of satisfaction from singing and song writing but music is not the most powerful way of communicating complex or positive messages. Simple messages are good and people can take what they want from that. But if you want to communicate something a little more complex then I think you need to use drama.

Showing 11th - 21st October 2006
BOX OFFICE 020 7582 7680
For tour dates and more info visit: http://www.bootycall.org.uk/

posted by Andrea Enisuoh @ 8:03 AM