Last Updated on January 27, 2026
A fascinating exploration of the relationship between female pleasure and pain
Starting with its name, Porn Play by Sophia Chetin-Leuner unapologetically aims to be wittily bold and shockingly different. It certainly succeeds at this, even though its attempts are at times too on-the-nose, albeit not in a sexually gratuitous way. What the title belies is that the play’s real strength lies in its exploration of the depth and vulnerability of human (dis)connection.
The Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court has, of course, long been an excellent place for showcasing exciting, boundary-pushing new writing. It’s an intimate space that is made more so in this production thanks to the set design by Yimei Zhao. The audience is issued with shoe covers as they enter, since the room is covered in a cream carpet that extends to the banks of seating. Something to bear in mind is that the first few rows of seating are benches without back support, but on the top row, you’re able to rest against the wall. Porn Play is performed in the round, with the central part of the set being an oval-shaped, sunken den that’s the female equivalent of phallic (‘yonic’?) in its symbolism. There are hidden layers and crevices, from which the cast pull out props, mirroring the script’s themes of secrecy, shame and sexuality.
Ambika Mod plays Ani, a brilliant young academic, who at the start of the play is celebrating winning a prestigious award for Milton’s Paradise Lost with her seemingly supportive boyfriend, Liam. She seems happy, successful and ambitious. Yet Liam has a concern he wishes to express – he finds Ani’s obsession with masturbating to violent pornography disturbing, and he no longer wishes to incorporate it into their sex life. Ani attempts to laugh off and dismiss this: she’s detached from the alarming nature of the material because it’s “not real-life” and the habit is her personal equivalent of having a glass of wine (“four”, Liam points out) at the end of a hard day. When it’s clear this won’t placate Liam, Ani breaks up with him.
During a progression of fifteen short scenes, we see Ani with her best friend, father, a student, and Ani giving a university lecture, attending a sex addicts anonymous meeting and at her award ceremony as she descends into self-destruction. The other three members of the cast – Will Close, Lizzy Connolly and Asif Khan – adeptly multi-role to play the other parts. Close in particular is fantastic at portraying distinctly different men, all of whom cause Ani to struggle more with the conflict between her public persona as a feminist academic and her private addiction to violent images that degrade women. As the lines between her public and private lives blur, Ani becomes more isolated, and only her father lends her a hand.
Ambika Mod gives a captivating, beautifully nuanced performance in a huge role that demands a lot of its performer. She is luminescent, and her lecture to her students on Milton’s study of Eve was so engaging that I would happily have signed up for more.
Josie Rourke’s direction, as well as the cocooning set design, lighting, and sound, is clever but didn’t fully serve the writing’s true heart and brilliance, often detracting from it. Moments were played verbally and physically for laughs, and the recurring motifs of Eve’s apple and nymph-like character were too heavy-handed. The scene change – although executed impressively quickly – slowed the action and diluted the hard-hitting emotional impact. I wanted certain moments to be explored more deeply, and when this did in fact happen, it was thrilling.
There was a scene between Ani and her father that was so well-written and performed through a few monologues, it had me promising myself to look out for and watch Chetin-Leuner’s future work. Firstly, Porn Play was an exquisite exploration of the boundary between pleasure and pain. Secondly, it beautifully captured a parent being caught in the devastating position of watching their child self-destruct and desperately trying through a seemingly mundane distraction technique to reach out and connect and offer hope.
Chetin-Leuner, like her character Ani, is a talented young woman with immense potential.
13 November – 13 December 2025
Book tickets for Porn Play here: https://royalcourttheatre.com/events/porn-play/ (NB sold out other than £15 Monday tickets, available to book on the day)
Royal Court Theatre (https://royalcourttheatre.com)
Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AS
Looking for something different? We recommend END currently showing at the Dorfman, National Theatre
Leave a Reply