Perverts hang out together – nudge nudge, wink wink

OK, before we continue on to the hard truth about the topic of Pornography in the new play Pervert, we have to acknowledge the following obvious question: in the Internet age, who still goes to porn stores?

Nevertheless, the interplay between several such denizens — after a store clerk accuses a customer of theft — is at the heart of this Northern Lights Theatre production from writer Stephen Massicotte.

Throughout the play, another customer discusses pornography in measures designed to challenge the audience on the issue, giving the play a duality – the interplay between personalities and a discussion of morality.

But again, the question remains: who goes to porn stores and gets into arguments with clerks? Every time I drive past one, there’s only one car parked outside, two at most. Do people walk to porn stores? Do they dig the sense of comraderie that comes with an in-person transaction, instead of downloading it?

And if it’s just not that likely there’d be this many people waxing soulful in a wank shop, does that therefore, make the actual premise of Pervert – an ambiguous term to begin with – a deus ex machina of sorts, an artificially convenient mechanism?

Or is this a porn store circa 1983?

Let the debate begin. Pervert previews tonight at the Varscona and begins a 10-night run Friday (April 8). Tickets are available through Tix On The Square.