Youtheatre tackles porn in online play
Youtheatre's latest offering an educational online remake on the pitfalls of pornography
Kids are on screens more than ever these days.
Between online schooling and the restrictions on socializing in real life during the pandemic, young people of all ages are spending countless hours online.
But do we know what they're actually up to, let loose in the digital sphere all day? As parents we may be reluctant to admit it — or prefer to flat out deny — that there's a good chance many adolescents are viewing pornography or engaging in other risky behaviours like sexting.
If it wasn't critical before the pandemic, the need for instruction on good digital citizenship and sexual education have become all the more urgent for young people. But with the school year already disrupted because of COVID-19, teachers may lack the time. Meanwhile, many parents may be at a loss for how to broach this awkward subject themselves.
Fortunately, a Montreal theatre company's online production of a play about the perils of pornography has arrived at an opportune moment. Youtheatre's Pandora went live Friday on the troupe's brand new platform, Youdigital. ca.
Quebec's oldest and Canada's only bilingual theatre company aimed at children and teens was just getting ready to bring a reboot of its acclaimed production to Montreal-area high schools last spring when the pandemic struck. The closure of schools brought down the curtain on a planned tour.
“It was so sad to have to cancel the show because we were so ready and it was so needed,” said Veronique Bossé, who goes by Véa artistically and is the group's co-director.
But luckily, Youtheatre had already been exploring the idea of moving into the virtual sphere in order to reach young audiences beyond borders, she said. Having previously applied for a grant from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority's community investment program, the group was able to hit the ground running.
“It really accelerated things for us,” Véa said.
The result is Youdigital, a virtual stage, if you will, for Pandora and future productions aimed at young people. The play comes with a tool kit for teachers about how to manage discussions of the play's sensitive themes. There are extras, such as a recorded roundtable discussion between the actors and a sexpert. And while it is intended for classes, there is also an option for members of the public to view the show for a small fee.
Pandora follows the eponymous main character, a 16-yearold girl, as she discovers internet pornography and is pulled into a “shame spiral,” as Véa calls it, that begins to affect her thoughts, actions and relationships.
Commissioned from playwright Sarah Berthiaume in 2008, it was first mounted by Youtheatre in 2012 to acclaim from student audiences and critics alike.
“It was, at the time, really provocative and also really relevant, as well,” Véa said. “It makes sense to talk about it again.”
There have long been concerns about whether the ubiquity of pornography is giving adolescents unrealistic expectations for their sex lives or warping attitudes about gender roles — both matters that still seem to divide experts researching a rapidly evolving and little explored topic. But there is indisputably a dark side to the world of pornography, as news events both past and recent show.
From humiliating sexting snafus that ruin young lives to revelations in The New York Times that Montreal-based internet behemoth Pornhub was allegedly profiting from images of minors, sexual assaults and videos uploaded without consent, the dangers are many. This is especially true for young people still reaching sexual maturity. But there is a lot to unpack.
Pandora manages to do this with metaphors instead of warnings, through a modern take on the Greek myth.
Even if 2012 wasn't that long ago, the context in which the play was staged was a very different time socially and technologically. Tablets had just been invented and smartphones were just becoming ubiquitous and powerful tools in young hands.
To bring the show to a new generation of students, Youtheatre revamped and updated the script. For instance, in the original Pandora's “box” was a computer; now it's a smartphone.
“One of the themes that we talk about is sexual consent,” Véa said, describing a scene in which Pandora and her love interest, Alex, end up alone together in a room and start making out. Pandora's mind starts reeling with toxic thoughts from all the porn she has seen. She starts questioning whether she's doing it right or pleasing Alex the way he wants. Her nerves get the best of her and she ends up leaving. Alex then launches into a monologue, wondering whether he pushed Pandora too far, too fast.
“That a male character is asking these questions really resonates with this generation,” said Véa, about feedback they got from students when they were workshopping tweaks on the original script before the pandemic.
While it addresses uncomfortable realities and aims to educate, Pandora doesn't moralize. It's not a warning against pornography so much as a reminder that it's an artificial construct that must be consumed with caution. The take-away message is that real-world intimacy requires mutual respect and communication — life lessons that will matter far long after the pandemic's over.