FRIDAY NIGHT LOVE POEM – A TRIO OF JOURNEYS TO FINDING SEXUAL EMPOWERMENT

“Knowlton and Chamberlain have shown themselves to be fearless and imaginative…”  Female Arts

Crossline Theatre preview their brand new play, Friday Night Love Poem, at The Drayton Arms, South Kensington before heading on to this year’s Brighton Fringe, performing at The Warren.  

Friday Night Love Poem, written by Crossline Theatre’s Natalia Knowlton, is a moving trio of coming-of-age stories; Kate is discovering what it really means to be a wife in her close-knit Christian community; Mia is beginning to push boundaries at school – pleasing boys as an easy route to popularity; and Cecilia is caught in the throes of her first love, battling the question “Am I ready yet?” These three young women explore their sexuality for the first time in a society that stigmatises female pleasure. 

In her latest work, emerging Chilean-Canadian writer Knowlton closely looks at the challenges that young women face when losing their virginity in a world fuelled by internet porn and bad sex education.  

Crossline Theatre’s previous show, Cream Pie (4 stars), featured stories taken from interviews intercut with parodies of porn scenes, providing a unique, poignant and comical insight into how the world of porn has affected the concept of sex for a whole generation. 

“Exploring porn at its tackiest by using the stereotypes and clichés thriving in mainstream porn to analyse and hilariously critique inequality in the industry.” Dazed Magazine

Cream Pie was an insightful and enjoyable piece of theatre, creating a catalyst for discussion about the all encompassing world of porn and Crossline Theatre hope to similarly create conversation with Friday Night Love Poem. 

Artistic Directors of Crossline Theatre, Kara Chamberlain and Natalia Knowlton, say “We created Friday Night Love Poem to start a conversation about female pleasure and what we can do better for the next generation of young women. We want to ensure that the issues we explore are continued after the show comes down. That’s why we are holding post show discussions and providing opportunities for young women to share their thoughts and feedback with us, so that we can hear directly from them and help to break the taboo of female sexual empowerment. ”

Knowlton added, “I want our work to inspire discussion, improve education and ultimately lead to action.” 

Crossline Theatre’s (wo)manifesto is to create new work that shares women’s stories inspired by their multicultural ancestry, their bodies and their social experiences and Friday Night Love Poem is no different – ending the silence on female sexual enjoyment. 

Friday Night Love Poem will be previewed on Sunday 5th May at 5pm and Monday 6th May at 7:30pm at The Drayton Arms. 

It opens at The Warren, Brighton Fringe on Wednesday 8th May at 6:45pm. Tickets start at £8 and can be purchased via the venues directly:

Drayton Arms
The Warren, Brighton Fringe