IN THE BEDROOM
A GUIDE TO SECOND DATE SEX I Rachel Hirons’ comedy slips between the sheets…
It’s an early afternoon in October and Teasers is standing in Clapham nightclub Infernos, a sticky red carpet beneath our feet and lights glaring off the giant mirrorball over the dance floor. Usually, this place is heaving with people out on the pull; now it’s playing host to A Guide To Second Date Sex, Rachel Hirons’ directorial debut about twentysomethings Ryan and Laura, who hook up a week after they first meet for that all-important next encounter.
“I feel like it’s an ode to your twenties – a very modern love story,” says Alexandra Roach, who plays Laura opposite George MacKay’s Ryan. After coming together in Infernos – seen in flashbacks – these luckless lovers wind up in Ryan’s bedroom during that second date. “You have such high hopes and expectations,” Roach continues, “you’re both sober, it’s different, you’re in his house, it’s awkward, his friends have told him one thing and your mother and friends have told you another thing.”
Today’s scene – as Laura touches up her make-up in the mirror in the ladies’ loo – should be a “piece of piss”, laughs Hirons, clearly on familiar territory – she scripted the 2013 comedy Powder Room. “I wanted to make a romcom that breathed new life into the genre
because it has fallen out of fashion,” adds the budding director, as she sits with Teasers over coffee and flapjacks in Infernos’ main room.
Afterwards, Teasers finds This Is England star Michael Socha upstairs, hanging out in the less-than-salubrious VIP room. He plays Ryan’s boisterous chum Dan, something of a repeat of his work on horror-comedy Double Date. “The character is quite similar – the best mate who is trying to get his mate laid. I’m good at them roles. I’m a great wingman. I was born to play a wingman!”
For Roach (The Iron Lady), the shoot’s been a baptism by fire. “I’m never cast as the sex-pot with loads of sex scenes,” she giggles. “So this is my first film where I’ve had to get my kit off and do all of that!” Fortunately, Hirons made it super-comfortable, even giving a speech to the crew about treating the actors kindly during these scenes. “I’ve never, ever heard a director talk with so much respect and gratitude about what we’re doing, and I’m not sure I’ll ever hear it again,” says Roach.
While she notes that most of the crew have been “talking about sex” all week, Hirons promises she won’t be going all Eyes Wide Shut on us. “I know that sex is in the title,” she reasons, “but it’s not about how graphic can we make [it]… because everyone’s seen tits and bums. It’s not about that, but about getting people emotionally invested. People feeling, ‘Oh my God, I have been there so many times.’”
ETA | 30 AUGUST / A GUIDE TO SECOND DATE SEX OPENS NEXT MONTH.