Sex With Strangers Steppenwolf Theatre Company
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Eason dealt with similar issues in 28: Pictures of Life in a High-Tech World, which she conceived and directed for her own company, Lookingglass Theatre, back in 1997. Her subject then was television and the short-attention-span culture, which she evoked by jump-cutting between vignettes featuring various unrelated characters. In Sex With Strangers, she uses a single couple to examine how the Internet shapes public discourse and personal connection.
Ethan admits to being a self-centered “asshole,” but only toward other assholes, a category that apparently includes every woman he’s slept with. He mocks them on his blog, knowing they’re mocking him on theirs. (“Isn’t there anything you want to keep private?” Olivia asks. “Why?” he asks back.) But now we’re supposed to believe he’s ready for a serious relationship with Olivia, whose out-of-print book he happens to have read and admired. Thanks to a snowstorm, they’re alone at the inn. There is no Internet access, no WiFi, no cell phone signal, not even a TV. Add a bottle of wine, and before you can say “scene one, blackout,” they’re in each other’s arms.
