In this week's Backstage Blog, we catch up with writer and performer Frankie Van Kan about their upcoming show, A BODY AT WORK, opening at Theatre Works as part of the 2025 Midsumma Festival on the 28th of January!
Q. What should audiences expect when they come to see A Body at Work?
A. Audiences will be taken on a journey through various facets of the sex industry, through the unravelling of my own whorephobia and the shifting of boundaries. The work is dealing with explicit themes so they will get an eyeful—they can expect that! And they can expect to be entertained, we are working with some big themes like sex and power but there is also a lot of humour and play and a gentle touch throughout.
Q. What inspired you to create this work?
A. This work is based on a memoir I have been working on for a few years about my years in the sex industry. While sex worker voices are becoming more prevalent in our culture they are still far and few between and I wanted to humanise sex workers through telling my own story. The work was also written pre sex work decriminalisation in Victoria and touches on the impact of those changes to someone who works in the industry.
Q. We are playing connections and the category is A Body At Work – what are the four words that make this connection?
Sex, power, play, vulnerability
Q. What are you hoping audiences take away from A Body at Work?
I think one of the beautiful things storytelling does is create opportunities for empathy by offering people a window into another’s experience. I want people to consider their bias towards sex workers when they leave this show and perhaps soften their judgements towards others and to allow a little more freedom in their own lives and sexualities. I also want them to feel something—I want to make work that people have a somatic response to, good or bad.
Q. What has been the most memorable moment throughout the creation / rehearsal process?
A. This is an existing work which has been touring for a year and the most memorable thing about it is the response people have had to the work. I’m so grateful to those who come and watch the show with an open heart and mind.
Make sure you get down to Theatre Works at the end of this month to check out this beautiful work! Click the link below to get your tickets:
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