SELF TAPE : THE GROUNDBREAKING GAY PLAY
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
“WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU’RE IN YOUR THIRTIES AND YOUR DREAMS HAVE VANISHED?”
A ONE-MAN SHOW FOLLOWING THE DOUBLE-LIFE OF JONAS HARLAND,
A GAY JOBBING-ACTOR AND WEBCAM-MODEL.
Following sell out performances in April as part of their Queer Interrogation season the ground-breaking, critically acclaimed Gay play Self Tape is back for a limited run at The Kings Head Theatre from 18th June – 2nd July.
From self-tape auditions to performing as a gay webcam model, what price will Jonas Harland – a jobbing-actor & council-estate boy ‘done good’ – pay in his attempts to win the career he has always dreamt of? Money may be tight, but is it worth sacrificing his peace of mind, his personal relationships and the little joy that remains, for the risk of exposure as he descends into the world of cyber-sex?
☆☆☆☆☆ ‘Bold & unflinching, and that’s the naked truth’ The Recs
☆☆☆☆ ‘A fascinating story… very absorbing’ London Theatre 1
Self Tape is a new play written and performed by Michael Batten, and directed by Scott Le Crass, whose production of Martin Sherman’s Rose with Maureen Lipman is transferring to the West End this month. Sound Designby Julian Starr andLighting Designby Joseph Bryant. Intimate apparel is provided by deadgoodundies (www.deadgoodundies.com)
Sofi Berenger, Senior Producer at the King’s Head Theatre said:
“We are delighted to be welcoming back Michael Batten’s one man show Self Tape. In its first sold-out run at KHT as part of Tom Ratcliffe’s Takeover season, audiences were bowled over by the frank conversation around online sex work, the plight of a stuggling actor and the searing story woven by Michael. It’s astounding that this is his first play and we are delighted to be supporting him and his play by giving it a longer run in our pub theatre.” –
Michael Batten said:
“I wanted to write a play about the parallels between self-taping and camming, where in the first instance we open ourselves up to get the dream role we’d love to play, and in the second we open ourselves up bravely, yet vulnerably, for other people’s sexual gratification, enabling us to get by and hopefully pay the bills. There’s a fine line between what we would and wouldn’t do as actors. Ultimately, it’s still performing, whether one ends in a curtain call or an orgasmic climax. They both end in some form of applause from someone watching in the dark.
I want the audience to come away thinking that we cannot know all of everyone, nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and we cannot judge. These are three main aspects that make up the play, which at it’s heart is about morality”.
Self Tape explores modern relationships; in-person & virtual, aiming to break the manifold taboos of sex-work. Written during lockdown, a period that saw an exponential rise in the camming industry, the piece holds a mirror up to contemporary society.
Tickets are on sale now at www.kingsheadtheatre.com insta: @michael.j.batten @kingsheadtheatre