Sex with Strangers recounts an episodic relationship between two writers whose views on relationships, writing, and how the internet effects both. We first meet Olivia Lago, a writer turned teacher who is resigned to write without the expectation of publication to avoid mixed reviews and the effect of caring. We find her snowed in at a writer’s retreat cabin when we meet Ethan Strange. Ethan is taking a detox from his highly successful life as a different kind of writer. His has maintained a blog, Sex With Strangers, recounting his experiences doing just that. With the life lessons learned from the blog’s wild success, Ethan becomes an iMentor to Olivia. And a few nights in that snowy woods cabin lead him to become her boyfriend as well.
Overall, I loved how Laura Eason pinpointed the strange social mannerisms that have erupted from the cellular age. She brought those ideas from the back of our head into full-frontal focus. The audience's eruptions of laughter at these commentaries reinforced how universal the shift in social dynamics that have erupted from the Facebook Generation.
However, for the social authenticity presented in these commentaries, there lacked a cohesian of that nail-on-the-head writing with the presentation of the character of The Internet. This was a play with two actors, but three characters. The Internet served as dominant a role, in both the building of a character and in a plot-point perspective, yet was inconsistently presented and undeveloped. Yes, we are commenting on the dangers of a relationship with the internet. But in the world of Sex With Strangers, the danger seems somewhat benign. Olivia's searches prove that her boyfriend's sexcapades were extreme, but we already knew that. Olivia sacrifices part of her ideal dream to achieve a more tangible success. None of the repercussions of The Internet's influence reflect his actual influence because the driving effects result moreso from the characters' direct decisions. This Internet was not an online predator. And so we are just left with the question Ethan left Olivia regarding their relationship: how much of a villain can the villain be if the victim enters eyes wide open?
Saverio Truglia's Anatomy of this Photo
With a subject as broad as The Internet is taking over our lives and stealing our children’s souls, one’s perspective must be finely-tuned and razor-sharp in its’ articulation. That point, that shock, that line that makes you say Hmmmm…I never thought of it that way just wasn’t there.
I was a hardcore fan of Sex With Strangers until the last scene. I won't kill the ending, but ending the play at the moment Olivia said, "It was fine," would have been absolutely perfect. The last scene's simple Lifetime reflection on lessons learned diluted the effect of the sharp observational epiphanies that punctuated the dialogue. While the experience was overall insightful, entertaining, and skillfully presented, it left no taste in my mouth.
I liked watching this play. I loved moments of it. But the message pittered off to a shallow final note and there was little that I took with me from it. My experience can best summed up by Olivia's idol, Marguerite Duras, “It's afterwards you realize that the feeling of happiness you had with a man didn't necessarily prove that you loved him.”
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