Helen Duff @ Pleasance Courtyard

A unique show from Helen Duff

Review by Jenni Ajderian | 19 Aug 2016

We’re on a quest for self-satisfaction and self-acceptance, and the pun in the title of Helen Duff’s show on the female orgasm (Come With Me) is one we’re encouraged to shout out at the top of the hour. Dressed as a sperm, then a vagina, then as herself, Duff takes us through the different stages of her journey, from research and online surveys to more practical experimentation.

As she has never had an orgasm, Duff’s quest is personal as well as social: how do you describe an orgasm? Can you replicate one live on stage? How do sexual partners react when you reveal you’ve never had one? As well as the results of her survey, Duff shares with us the advice, solicited and un-solicited, that she’s received over the last few months. It’s this content that we warm to most, while the more absurd and clownish parts take a while to get used to and feel a bit directionless. It’s when Duff is just recounting her experiences, out of character, that she is at her most recognisable, honest and funny.


Helen Duff: Come With Me, Pleasance Courtyard (That), 3-29 Aug (not 15), 5.45pm, £6-10