Jane Austen’s Guide To Porno
The 19th-century Russian critic Belinsky once described a classic as “something indestructible.” Jane Austen certainly qualifies. Latest example: Fresh from a run on the Edinburgh fringe, “Jane Austen’s Guide to Pornography” arrived at Battersea’s Theatre 503 last week with an all-male cast and not a little innuendo. Steve Dawson’s piece pitches a gay pornographic playwright, tired of only churning out one-liners and sex, up against Austen herself, who is near death, bored with her stories and “awaking screaming at the thought of another Mr Darcy”. The pair look for inspiration from each other: Jane wants a bit of raunch in her new novel, Brett the playwright wants to inject true love into his writing.
