Pork Stiletto – Allsopp & Henderson

Overview

One of my fondest theatre memories in Sydney is of Allsopp & Henderson’s The Jinglists at the Old Fitz in winter with a laksa, beer, and show deal they had going on back then. It was hilarious and sad and an absolute bargain. Its creators, Warwick Allsopp and Tamlyn Henderson, have come up with another pearler in Pork Stiletto, but sadly there's no more laksa.

The Old Fitz is the best pub in Sydney and houses some of the city's best theatre, but the new food is not up to scratch. This doesn't have much to do with the show of course, but if Sydney is going to maintain a healthy independent theatre culture, it needs places like the Old Fitz to provide a whole evening, not just a show. This requires laksa. Or some other excellent food.

To the play. Sex is a funny topic generally, but what's really funny is sex with trees, toasters, and crustaceans. Pork Stiletto follows postgraduate psychologist Emma (Louisa Mignone) and her colleague Damon (Tamlyn Henderson) as they conduct unauthorised field research on the topic of paraphilia — the broad term for sexual practices that deviate from the garden variety. I wondered if some of the terms were made up, like Gary Larson's fictional 'anatidaephobia' (the fear that somewhere, somehow a duck is watching you) or Wallace and Gromit's 'anoraknophobia'.

It turns out that autonepiophilia is a bona fide fetish, and Briallen Clarke makes an alarmingly good transition from adult lady to adult baby. Warwick Allsopp's characterisation of a gentleman mechanophile is heartbreaking when he sees that his beloved toaster responds more to visitor Damon than him.

Before you get too disturbed, I should point out that the show is hilarious and there’s a whodunnit plot running alongside the tutorial in paraphilia. The design elements also contribute to a rollicking night in the theatre, with some pretty saucy sound design from James Collins and scary thriller lighting from Jack Preston.