F*ck Machine at Contact
- Paul Genty
- May 3
- 2 min read
Sick of her boring day job, character Baby decides to take her first steps into the world of online sex work in Helena Braithwaite's baldly-titled F*ck Machine from Ricochet Theatre at Manchester's Contact Theatre (June 3-6).
Guided by experienced professional Bunny (Frankie Lipman), Baby (played by the writer) becomes a star - but fame is cheap in her new world and Baby has to push her boundaries further to keep money and clicks rolling in.
Extracts from Helena's debut play were first performed in Ricochet's third iteration of Bulletpoints, its new-writing showcase, at Contact last year. The play has since been developed with support from Contact Theatre and Manchester's Royal Exchange, and had a "work in progress" performance last October in London, where it is expected to return in its finished form.
The dark, surreal comedy features clowning, puppetry and cabaret style show tunes as it pulls the audience into the complex and contradictory truths behind Baby's new job and discusses human connection and the commodification of women’s bodies. Sex acts are transformed into vaudeville songs, masturbation into talking puppets, nudity into pinstripe suits and a long-in-the-tooth porn star becomes a fading Broadway luvvie, fantasising about the spotlight.
Company Ricochet is known for the creation of well-crafted work that finds new perspectives on familiar stories and ideas, and across its three outings at Contact Theatre, writing showcase Bulletpoints has staged more than 35 scripts and connected over 90 emerging artists across Manchester and London.
The company's first production, monologue The Same Rain That Falls on Me, received multiple five-star reviews and won the York Performance Award and Pick of Bedfringe in 2021. Their productions have also been shortlisted for two Pleasance Theatre Charlie Hartill Awards.
More info and tickets here
