Story of O

Actors move around on a sparse stage, set with merry-go-round horses and sprinkled with sand that makes a crunching sound as it is walked on.  This modern reinterpretation, by The Rabble, of the original novel Story of O written by Pauline Reage (Anne Desclos) and published in 1954, is at times an overwhelmingly visceral experience.

The masochism of being subjected to erotic/pornographic sex is explored from the female perspective.  Mary Helen Sassman plays O, a young woman with a healthy defiance, who throughout is symbolically violated with clinical objectivity - as though such exploits are an imperative and necessary evil.  The unquestioning compliance with which the-matter-of fact sex acts are perpetrated by the other characters is fascinating.  This disturbing malaise of neutrality allows the viewer space for contemplating meaning that is uncluttered by emotional connectivity. 

As O, Sassman tellingly and poignantly portrays the journey of a feisty and strong willed young woman being corroded by voluntary sexual exploitation/victimization.

Emily Milledge is beautifully cast as Nathalie, an apparently unquestioning compliant and complicit childlike assistant whose participation in torturous activities implies the self-perpetuating unquestioning and cyclic nature of the exploitation of the female body.

The character of Sir Stephen played by Jane Montgomery Griffiths establishes an unstable patriarchal focal point.  Griffith richly and disturbingly embodies this controlling and unlovely male character who initially lectures the audience on the semantics of erotica.

Story of O is a serious work and not for the faint-hearted. Acts of sex and violence such as penetration, restraint and whipping are robustly and graphically, albeit symbolically, enacted. 

Director Emma Valente courageously and rewardingly explores theories of erotica in relation to gender – fulfillment, satiation and annihilation.

It is an intense and rocky ride that has much to recommend it, including a hilarious parody on the casting of a classic work that is concurrently running at Melbourne Theatre Company.

Suzanne Sandow

Images: Mary Helen Sassman as O with Emily Milledge as Nathalie and Mary Helen Sassman as O. Photographer: Guy Little.