Artistic Encounters: Exposed Innocent Flesh

"The first two facts which a healthy boy or girl feels about sex are these:
first that it is beautiful
and then that it is dangerous."
G.K.Chesterton

"Are you here for some innocent flesh . . . Show starts in ten minutes". Hinted cue taken, we left the bar counter and tracked down Joe the pimp's departure to a side door outside the bar, snaking up a claustrophobic stairway to climb.

The passageway entrance at the end of the ascension opened us up to darkness. Lined up in red lighting, darkly illuminated were four girls, dressed provocatively, incarcerated within three miniature glass prisons, attempting to move in time to harsh rock music; the key chorus to Marilyn Manson's take on Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams, its high pitches raucously scraping, bombarding and bashing heavily against the walls in the midst of this scene, like an incensed behemoth.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

A modern day exposure of Hell, and we were latter-day Dante-ian bystanders looking on this momentary sight as we passed them, guarded by their pimp, to go watch their 'show'.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

-.-.-.-

Nothing is more powerful than the aesthetic medium of theatre in the act of presenting truth, and nothing moved me more greatly to an internal state of heart-wrenching pity and guilt as TAC Theatre's performance of Kenyetta Lethridge's play Innocent Flesh on their first performance in November.

Each of the four actresses - Nadia, Tina, Simone and Sarah Jane - echoed exceptionally well in their characters the void of love, the enticement of attention never received in their own homes, victims to the unsatisfied, oversexed whims of society, both in action and in thought.

Raped of all that gives definition of what illustrates their personal dignity, their characters stood as ambassadors of the unwanted and the unloved, and their performance motivated me halfway to want to stand up from my seat, go to the performance area, (forgetting entirely it was a performance), embrace them as long-lost sisters, and then get them all the heck out of there, never mind their macho 'caretaker' being on watch.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

Reverberations of the language and mannerisms of every global and local red-light district made manifest in these girls, in interval sessions of provocative display, before each girl told their tale of their conclusive state of self-usury. In carefully planned synchronisation, each girl got to tell their own story, reflecting their individual personalities, supported by the other girls as sub-characters, to recreate and invoke vividly (nothing withheld) their flashbacks onto the stage and manifesting their characters all the more. Proving that they were not simply 'one of many' but 'one of a kind', a revelation rarely given in their lives and inhibited from receiving in every 'sexual service' they are giving.

The director, Marc Cabourdin, took the original and realistic approach of proving these sad constant cases to be nestling happily on our own islands, through the revelation of Simone's character Candace (and a sub-character of a 'client' police officer off-duty if memory serves me well) to be Maltese.

One tale from Danna (Tina's girl) punched out of me a loud exclamation of shock, as she casually recalled one 'client' remarking her resemblance to his own teenage daughter, an empty vessel void of masculinity as a man, husband and father.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

The sub-characters submitted into the performance a reflection of society today; their accusers, their victimizers, figures that edged them further into the contraption that now formed their cage.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

We all sat there, watching on.

Four girls dazed, under another dose of ecstacy.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

Four girls encircling, handcuffed in the midst of sirens.

Their conversions on an umpteenth abortion, a girl-fight over a client's attention, and violence, treated and expressed as normally as a discussion over a teenage magazine article.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

We were watching on, deep down knowing that we ought to take action, knowing that we have somehow caused this,

somehow responsible,

involved in their entrapment.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

We watched all this, till "Lupita", "Danna", "Candace" and "Lisa", in the midst of a slow blackout, struggled in a whisper . . .Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

"I want to be loved".

-.-.-.-

Empty house.

My folks were still out.

The silence in the kitchen aided in keeping

the scenes

and images

witnessed

at the Vault theatre

amplified in my mind.

I had been so preoccupied on the most futile things that I realised I stopped fighting entirely against human trafficking, a cause I advocated so strongly against.

Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

In action and in thought.

"We are not here to justify, judge or comment on the truth. We are simply exposing it. As an artist it is my duty to hold up a mirror to society, and in turn let it bask in its glory, or balk at its failures". Marc CabourdinCopyright © Diandra A. 2013

Renewed awakening.

Seeing the play made me realise also, as we were all seated there, that we were likewise taking part in that production, not just as expressing awareness to human trafficking but also by presenting ourselves as a community, passively and actively, allowing this to happen.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

Lust is reigning.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

Idolised by Society.

Demanded by Culture.

Allowing our shackles to tighten

in self-slavery.

We're all busily 'occupied'

by our own whims

to empty that futile 'satisfaction'

further

to the whining

immature

spoilt brat that is Lust.

We may not be the ones physically pushing girls and young women into the hands of perverted 'caretakers' and oversexed 'clients' - but we cannot deny that it is in the mantra of society of over-sexing every single thing that comes up in our lives, that has led every woman and child part of the sex trade - into the way of their victimisers, who are weak in their minds, and void of true masculinity - among men - by this constant promiscuity, misuse of sex and casualness towards sex.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

In Society - no true sense of adventure in winning someone's heart by responding to

their identity and qualities that make them unique and worth fighting for.

Makes one feel like we need to echo an obnoxious, badly written sitcom
Copyright © Diandra A. 2013in order to overcome boredom.

"The world is dry not for lack of wonders, Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

but for lack of wonder."

G.K.C

Casualness and misuse of sex has led many to a state of self-censorship; to living a false philosophy that censors the beauty within every man and woman, be it 'experimenting', hook-ups, friends with benefits, drunk one night stands, scheduled night ins just to sleep around, amplifying a "conventional" mentality entirely surrounding sex in its perverted form.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

Censoring our individual strengthsCopyright © Diandra A. 2013

Our beauty Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

Our unique self worth

and good qualities

that invokes

Joy . . .

For the sake of self-satisfying

futile

empty pleasure
and use.

It's heartbreaking to encounter and know these people doing this; seeing them not realise they are worth more, (that they ought to treat themselves and) to be treated as more in recognition of their own personal worth, and can show more without stamping biased-ness on what they see as restrictive, ('religious' on the matter of chastity) and unhindered.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

Real hindered-ness is this very constant perverted action and thought itself.

Of not having the slightest idea on how to be themselves,

without this perverted, counterfeit

'conventionalism' they've allowed themselves to live by.
Alongside the effects placed on themselves
Copyright © Diandra A. 2013 and others.

Apparently someone being genuine and expressing chivalry and respect (as a response) to the opposite sex is more complicated to the world than hook-ups. Feels so frustrating to be genuine when constantly concluded as "prude".Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

When this oversexed philosophy still lives, and is still practiced, so does this global attack on human dignity, spreading human trafficking all the more in the minds of pimps and victims -

Deny it if you dare.

"The love of the untried is truly the love of nothing"

G.K. Chesterton

I went to bed . . . Stared at the ceiling . . .

"I am free. I have Freedom to be in a warm bed. I have freedom to walk and roam around this house. I have freedom to leave the lamp lit a while longer . . . And yet right now, my other sisters - siblings - are still trapped, and inhibited of such 'minor luxuries' ".

Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

We're neglecting them of the truth and freedom that's just as rightfully theirs.

"They are robbed of their God-given freedom. I can relate

to Kenyetta's story,

and true love and beauty can be gained,

made mine,

freely found,

without the drama,

and willing to give to those who don't realise that they DO deserve".

(Musing on)

Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

. . . . .

CENTRE SPOTLIGHT -

Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

In a society based on human authority, (where we solely define what is good and bad to satisfy ourselves) where is that true reverential response and act to gain and receive love by who they are, not by what they do?

We've all heard of YOLO . . . have any of us ever considered shouting YODO as our mantra?Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

Dear Gentlemen, Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

What is true manhood?

Is it the act of censorship upon yourselves

by following a mindless

unsatisfied
counterfeit

'conventional' set of 'rules'

that inhibits you from showing your unique qualities and strengths?

Does this 'active lifestyle' allow you to show your full identity as special, uncommon men, or does it place you under a category Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

based on the same mentality,

the same attitude,

the same actions

When using a woman to silence your inferior sexual whims, don't you see you

are being used too? Even in the process of allowing both of you

to edge the lie

further in your actions and lives?

When will the most promiscuous man see that what defines true masculinity is not the lie of 'how good they are in bed', but by the Truth of what forms their hearts and souls?Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

When will you let us women, who have good intentions, treat you with

rightful respect and try to win your heart as a response that you have worth,

that you are worthy of our time?

When will you chuck these inferior shackles aside

that's binding you and blinding you,

and let us freely acknowledge you as the better men we know you are

and you can show yourselves to be?

Don't you wish to be remember by your unique qualities

that's sadly never placed on a pedestal,

or do you expect us to believe

you want to be commemorated

Ladies, why define 'experimentation' as placing yourselves as objects AND userers?

Society's definition of being a 'free spirit' is really stamped slavery.

This casualness towards sex is dependency unsatisfied.

I say this with love.

You inhibit yourself of respectfully treating the other person and of taking on a genuine, creative initiative of doing something together - based on real love. You don't even challenge yourselves of how to win him or her over to acknowledge that other as one of a kind, not one of many.Copyright © Diandra A. 2013

Stop censoring yourselves!!

Constant misuse of sex is making guys and girls boring
- and bored.

"Every high civilisation decays

by forgetting obvious things.

Our generation in a dirty pessimistic period,

has blasphemously underrated

the beauty of life

and cravenly overrated

its dangers".

It's also trapping the souls of our four siblings, seen in Innocent Flesh, further into those four claustrophobic walls that sadly isn't the Vault theatre.

Just as the Holocaust physically entrapped victims, by weak individuals led on by a false philosophy, so does this modern holocaust entrap us mentally and actively in our lives, and constant promiscuity and casual sex encourage the weak 'pervs', 'clients' & 'pimps' and defenseless 'products' into the kind of eternal Hell on earth witnessed by us Dante-ian protagonists.

SLOW BLACKOUT.

. . . . .

Artistic Encounters

Exposed Innocent Flesh - Part 1

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