SEXT by Shira Taylor. Annex Theatre. July 2 at 5:45 pm, July 3 at 12:30 pm, July 6 at 7 pm, July 7 at 9:15 pm, July 9 at 2:15 pm, July 10 at 5:45 pm. Buy tickets. Rating: NNNN
Want to talk about sex? The 12 talented teens in Shira Taylor’s SExT (an acronym for Sex Education by Theatre) sure do. The show is a response to Ontario parents who have been fighting the province’s controversial sex-ed curriculum for nearly a year. It’s a protest of sorts set to song and dance.
The diverse ensemble is made up of students from Flemingdon and Thorncliffe Park, two communities where opposition to progressive sex-ed is strongest. They tackle tough topics like porn, abortion, relationships and consent with a frankness and fearlessness that’s unfiltered and fun. A sketch about the race to fertilization narrated as The Hunger Games elicited some of the loudest laughs on opening night. In another memorable sketch, a superhero-style character named "Captain Condom" wears a flesh-toned top hat and wrangles a band of STIs to talk about safe sex.
It’s all delivered through pop songs, sketches and poignant spoken-word poetry, and is likely more effective delivering a message than any current sex-ed class.
In this case, the kids are all right.