Twenty years after we collectively began asking ourselves whether we were a Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha or Miranda (see: We should all be Mirandas) following the launch of the wildly successful television series, Sex and the City, a loud few are incensed at the mere mention of the word “sex.”
Unfortunately, for Penang director and playwright Fa Abdul, this means that she’s had to change the name of her Valentine’s Day weekend production of Sex in Georgetown City to … Love in Georgetown City conservative outcry.
Taking to her personal Facebook page to explain that while the play doesn’t have actual sex in it per se, it was never “[her] intent to offend religious or cultural sensitivities.” Offering a bit of perspective on the matter, she added that “in the creative industry, such incidents are inevitable.”
However, she conceded that the title was “misleading.”
Several police reports were filed after publicity for the play went up in and around Penang island, with many angered over a play that had yet to make it to the stage at the Performing Arts Center of Penang (PenangPAC).
Ikram, a “humanitarian” NGO, released a statement admitting that they were basing their impressions solely on a poster, admitting that while there may be no sex, the suggestion of two covered individuals in bed next to each other — as depicted in the promotional poster — could imply that there was sex-related dialogue, “in bed displays,” or even — grab your pearls now, folks — the representation of sex in “lewd comedy.”
Fa has explained that the play is comprised of ten “skits,” each about eight minutes long. “As with all my previous plays performed at Penangpac over the last four years, my intent is to educate the public on social issues in an entertaining and informative manner,” she wrote.
“The skits address social issues that are impacting our society and nation including inter-racial relationships, racism, pedophilia, and infidelity. They are not deviant nor exploitative, instead they reflect our challenges and cultural idiosyncrasies.
“In my experience, feedback from my shows in the past has been overwhelmingly positive and indeed resulted in healthy conversations and debates,” she concluded. The play is intended for an audience of 16 years old and above.
As the saying goes — all publicity is good publicity — with this media boost — we hope that you sell out your dates, Fa.
