In Crisis - Eroticism or the Lack Thereof

Sexuality is, at its heart, a vital principle of human living that ties the desire, energy and pleasure of the body to an intellectual, emotional and even spiritual intimacy. Berlin is particularly a city that has been characterized by its libertine sexual culture. Far from being a taboo, sexuality seems particularly encouraged with the prominence of sex clubs and parties going on around the city. It played a vital role in shaping the zeitgeist of East Berlin, whose citizens sought to escape the rigidity of the state through the emancipation of their own sex lives.

“If Paris is the city of love, Berlin is the land of fuck. With its many underground sex clubs and 'nights' for every persuasion, Berlin is a mecca of sex as you've never experienced it before... – EXBERLINER”

Thus, it is apparent that sexuality is at the heart of cultural life here in Berlin. Here, there seems to be no taboos left concerning sex save for one – not having it. In “Erotic Crisis,” Yael Ronen plays the role of a psychotherapist in the dying bedrooms of two long-standing couples. Despite initially deriving so much satisfaction and meaning from their sexual liaisons, these couples come to face the growing reality that sex, for them, is just a means of maintaining the status quo; sex has become a bore. They begin the show with naked honesty, both figuratively and literally. Dressed in provocative fetish outfits, each individual talks at length about their vivid sexual fantasies to varying degrees of plausibility to surreality. The entire sequence is undoubtedly comic in nature, a means of introducing the liberal attitudes of both the couples as well as the city of Berlin at large. But the play takes an increasingly tragic turn as the cracks in their relationships are revealed. Whether dealing with deep-seated insecurities or the realization that their partner simply cannot give them what they need, these individuals are shaken to their cores as they realize that their relationships have turned into dead ends. What does it mean to possess physical satisfaction, but without emotional or spiritual climax? What are they – to each other? Perhaps reflective of reality, there are no easy answers in the play. Alienation is at the heart of this work, and it is every bit as heartbreaking and disillusioning as it is in life.