Director on live sex theater: “Theater is always a type of voyeurism”

taz: Ruby Rawson, what can the audience expect from “Obscene”?

Ruby Rawson: It will be a hot queer sex show with lots of theatrical moments, singing and theatrical tricks. It will be fun and humorous.

taz: Your production is a queer feminist interpretation of the Salambo Club, the first live sex theater on the Reeperbahn. Why do you want to revive this theater?

Rawson: I was totally fascinated by it. I was wondering what the difference is between filmed pornography and live sex and how this live moment affects something that is actually very private. Theater is always a type of voyeurism, consensually of course. In live sex theater, this looking and being looked at is taken to the extreme. I’m also interested in structures critical of power in the theater and the question of what it’s like to bring this intimate topic into the theater. I combined my profession as an actor with a personal interest – I am very interested in sex positivity, both in theory and in practice.

taz: Why do you base your work on the productions of the Salambo Club?

Rawson: Because it was a very exciting place with lots of different people. In Salambo, however, a lot of things took place on a very heteronormative and exoticizing level. We want to take this up and put it in a contemporary context, with a critical awareness of gender and race. But our focus is more on pleasure than on the dark sides, which are only our starting point. We approach it with the idea of ​​what it would be like if a place like this were a beautiful place where people look out for each other.

taz: Can sex theater be emancipatory?

Rawson: In any case. Access to pornography is very easy and available at any time. I think it’s important to counter this with an emancipatory and pleasurable discussion – and to ask what queer and female sexuality, safe sex, consent and personal boundaries mean. Experiencing this with different bodies and in different constellations on one stage would have brought a lot to me as a growing person with a sexual interest.

taz: Was sex theater also emancipatory in Salambo?

Rawson: In my opinion not. But this feeling became more and more ambiguous the more I researched. Through the many conversations with different people, a complex picture of Salambo emerged. Also, I don’t want to judge because I’ve never experienced it myself.

taz: How did you find out about the actors in advance?

Rawson: We researched and spoke to contemporary witnesses. In St. Pauli there is the Erotic Art Museum, where you can see photos, the Salambo menu and props as well as videotapes. We were allowed into that Archive of the photographer Günter Zint look, who was something like the Salambo’s house photographer. Furthermore, it has St. Pauli historian Eva Decker shared their knowledge with us.

taz: What did you find out?

Rawson: The Salambo was a place of work and home for many marginalized people, such as migrants and trans women. But very little is known about these people. Sometimes you don’t even know them by name. On the Gründer des Salambos, René Durandbut there are entire books. We want to highlight this gap and ask ourselves who the performers were.

taz: To what extent do you incorporate documentary or historical material into the production?

Rawson: We recreate famous Salambo numbers and juxtapose them with icons from the lesbian porn and BDSM scene, such as Krista Beinstein and Annie Sprinkle. However, we consciously decided not to integrate the photos that exist from Salambo’s time, as well as the video material, into the production. We want to stay with the live moment.