La Ronde

We are presented with a series of ten short scenes of pairs of lovers of different social positions having sex that has one lover of each pair moving into the next scene until we return to the unrepeated lover in the first pair appears in the last scene. Though the same two actors play the lovers in all the scenes, their roles explore a wide variety of marital and economic standing which highlighted the thesis that sex crosses all boundaries. While I appreciated the concept, I must admit that I appreciated the beauty and sexiness of the actress in the soft porn nude staging even more. By Sean Davis

When originally performed in 1920, La Ronde was vehemently controversial, even prompting personal and anti-Semitic attacks towards playwright Arthur Schnitzler.

The play is a series of seducing encounters, all of which interlock so we stay with each character for two scenes - the prostitute and the soldier, the soldier and the maid, the maid and the student, and so on. It's essentially a bed hopping chain reaction all the way up the social ladder and back again, lifting the lid, on the carnal world behind closed doors in 1980 Vienna.

It's easy to see why the Schnitzler original La Ronde was shocking to an early 1900s audience. However, here in 2015 sex and nudity no longer carry the same taboo, so it is a challenge of contemporary versions of the play to achieve some sense of revealing scandal.

In this production, adapted by Eric Bentley, there are four people on stage. As well as the two leads, we have two characters who aid and abet the scene transitions and also represent the various shenanigans happening on stage with creative assortment of props (a banana, an apple, a train). It's clever, sometimes funny, but shocking? Not so much. And without a feeling of revelation at this seedy underworld the play can feel a little flat and pointless.

What remains, however, is the clever web of relationships which spans class and social boundaries, suggesting that when it comes to the bedroom, everyone is pretty much the same. The two leads play all the characters we meet and do a great job of creating each one (the poet, the married woman, the actress, the count) in the short time they have to work with.

In performance of this play to a contemporary audience, the best moments are when the focus is not necessarily on the relatively un-shocking sex, but instead the ever relevant issues of class, and also on the balance of power in relationships between men and women.

Press launches are always brilliantly fun, boozy affairs, so my apologies to the cast La Ronde as it probably wasn't the smartest move on my behalf to go see their show, right after the Guilded Balloon party...where I discovered that I really rather enjoyed free whisky sours.

However even half cut I was delighted with this very sexy and intriguing theatrical adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's banned tale of sex, morals and class. Told through several brief tales of lovers and their relationships with one another, it offers a funny, sweet and sometimes just plain old dirty little insights into couple and their relationships and how it transcends the classes. The fact that it still resonate with an audience over one hundred years after it was first written is quite remarkable.

Though while it's message may make you think, don't be lured into thinking that you will be shocked to your core. Actually despite full frontal lady bits (yay....) and some light S and M there's little here to get you hot under the collar. But the small cast of four, do a remarkable job with the material, giving an intense and layered performance. Especially Thea Balich who fully taps into her inner vixen, and it's clear that she is having a whale of a time. Giving an outstanding performance that keeps you glued to what will happen next.

This show is witty, laugh out loud funny and absolutely heartbreaking. An interesting and accurate insight into the strange world of sex and relationships, skillfully played by all four actors involved. The use of the set was extremely pleasing and exciting, as was the hilarious metaphors for the many different positions in which one can have sex. This is definitely one to see with your significant other, and even with the gals or the lads for a good laugh.

In keeping with its history, this latest production of La Ronde by Zebronkeyis controversial. Describing it as a 'bareback ride to get your juices flowing', the issue is whether the company has gone for titillation over substance and for puerile pornography over serious social commentary. Thankfully, it seems somewhat justified.

An important positive note about this production is that, unlike The Blue Room, it remains true to the historical context of the original.

Arthur Schnitzler, a Jewish medical doctor, wrote the original, Reigen, in 1898. He did not intend for it be performed and even seems to have shocked himself by what he had written, declaring some scenes to be unprintable. The censors agreed and banned it in 1904. In 1921 the first public performance was closed down by the Vienna police and Schnitzler prosecuted for obscenity among scenes of anti-semitism. Further public debate ensued with the 1964 film version,Circle of Love, containing the Jane Fonda nude scene and The Blue Room, a 1998 stage adaptation by David Hare at the Donmar in which Nicole Kidman revealed herself from behind and Iain Glen performed a full-frontal cartwheel.

An important positive note about this production is that, unlike The Blue Room, it remains true to the historical context of the original. Viennese society was stratified and the hypocrisy of the upstairs, downstairs relationships in this play is central to its purpose. The format consists of five female characters (The Prostitute, The Housemaid, The Married Woman, The Young Girl and The Actress) and five male characters (The Soldier, The Student, The Husband, The Poet and The Count) paired in five scenes, with one of them alternately providing continuity into the next scene. This daisy chain of encounters forms a syphilitic saunter through the sexual transgressions of all social classes, revealing a world of secrets and lies, infidelity and lust, and male domination.

A major challenge for directors is how represent the various sexual acts. Blackouts and drawn curtains have both been used along with simulations and dance routines. At this point Zebronkey's director, Clive Perrott, uses two additional characters in the guise of a butler and a maid, who remain on either side of the stage throughout. They facilitate set changes and produce scene titles in a manner akin to the Victorian music hall or the silent movies. Most importantly they create intimations of sexual acts with a range of objects including peaches, bananas and a toy train among others. These scenes can be viewed as cleverly creative and comic, or trite and trivialising, depending on your perspective.

In the main roles Thea Balich and Mark Lyle rise to the challenge of creating differentiated characters, while Abi McLoughlin and Ben Isherwood clearly revel in the impropriety of their games.

The aim of Zebronkey in this production is to create 'a thoroughly wicked, extremely naughty and very funny interpretation of this notorious classic'. In so doing purists might say that the whole point of the play has been missed, but, if you like a theatrical conundrum, you'll probably enjoy this production.