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 No sooner had we started planning to feature the outrageous Spanish theater company La Fura dels Baus' new London production of XXX, a new interpretation of the Marquis de Sade's Philosophy in the Bedroom, than the story shifted from casual coverage to controversy.  After its premiere last week at Hammersmith's Riverside Studios showcased what the Evening Standard called "some of the most explicit sex scenes ever seen in Britain," including what many consider a genuine onstage act of fellatio, the Home Office announced it is looking into whether charges of sex in public will be meted out to those in charge of the production."In terms of law it does not make any difference if it was a member of the cast or a member of the audience who was involved. Sex in public is an offence and they could be prosecuted," according to a spokeswoman for the Home Office. La Fura's director Alex Olle told the Standard that the audience member involved in the show was a "plant" placed by the company and that his penis was prosthetic. This might not aid the troupe, however, as the Home Office stated the use of a prosthesis could lead to a prosecution. "This is the only country where people have asked whether it was real. Since La Fura was founded 25 years ago we have wanted to shock people so they can open their minds. For me this reaction is funny—and it is good for our ticket sales." No doubt, but it's clear that the subject matter itself, de Sade, along with La Fura's reputation for salaciousness, would be quite enough to get Londoners out for the most controversial theatrical display since Nicole Kidman doffed her knickers.  As the troupe itself states, "(XXX) is not about an erotic spectacle, but a pornographic spectacle."In a press statement, La Fura outlined their twist on the classic de Sade piece. "XXX is about the perversion of a young woman called Eugenie carried out by a group of liberal people. Madame Lula, a retired porn star, sensual, calculating and manipulating, is the brain of this particular journey through the sexual initiation of the innocent Eugenie. "In this journey she will be accompanied by Dolmance, a character with a philosphical and intellectual core, who is the most similar to Sade. Dolmance is the most ingenious, the cruelest, the most selfish, and the most narcissist of all of them. Then there is also Giovanni, the brother of Madame Lula, who has an incestuous relationship with her. Giovanni is led on by his sister who is able to provide him with the pleasures necessary for a narcissist like him. These four characters, a dressing table, and a giant screen drive the journey through innocence, perversion and madness."  In accordance with the subject matter, La Fura's production includes (simulated or not) depictions of everything from acts of sodomy (take your pick, they're all here) to a video image of a woman taking a whopping shite onto a camera lens. Video images of hardcore sex fill the giant screen throughout the production.In his review for the Mirror, theater critic Kevin O' Sullivan wrote that he "sat open-mouthed as XXX assaulted my senses in a tidal wave of traumatic images I don't think I'll ever forget." "I've been around the houses," O' Sullivan wrote. "I'm a man of the world. But, God, I was stunned at some of the things I saw." But despite the Mirror scribe's shock at the production, he highly recommended it for viewers of higher tolerance. "When I wasn't suffering for my prim-and-properness, I was mesmerized." It's all a great show, provided it can actually keep running under the watchful eye of the Yard. For more information about XXX, visit www.lafura.com.
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