Hiron’s adaptation of her play delves into the complexity, anxiety, messiness, and hormonal world of ‘the date’ with ease, joyfully jettisoning fluffy, cuddly romance as Ryan and Laura’s messy journey toward love unfolds before our eyes. A Guide to Second Date Sex is now available to rent, buy or stream.
Based on her acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Play of 2012, A Guide to Second Date Sex, Rachel Hiron’s directorial debut reflects its theatrical roots with pride. Hiron offers us a quintessentially British situation comedy, bathed in awkwardness, as two twenty-something adults, keen to embrace the spark of a new relationship, fumble around the traps in their way while their friends pile on the pressure with less-than-helpful advice.
Laura (Alexandra Roach) lives with her mum following the collapse of a long-term relationship with a man who turned out to be gay. Meanwhile, Ryan (George MacKay) has recently suffered the indignity of finding his girlfriend having sex with one of his best mates in the lounge. Both Ryan and Laura are desperate to move on, yet the ghosts of their past equally trap them, their confidence knocked as they search for someone new.
On a night out at a local club, Ryan and Laura meet by chance at the bar, and a spark of attraction leads to an awkward conversation, Tia Maria shots, and some awful dancing. Both sense the beginning of something new in a haze of alcohol fumes and gibberish and arrange a more sober and controlled second date. But are Laura and Ryan ready to move on from past relationships? And can either of them find the confidence to make a second date work without copious quantities of alcohol? After all, just how awkward can a second date be?
Hiron’s original Edinburgh Fringe production was based on actual interviews as she weaved lived experience and anxieties into a delightful comedy of errors. But does the play translate to the screen? With the help of a superb ensemble cast, A Guide to Second Date Sex maintains the wickedly sharp, brutally honest humour and the socio-sexual discussions of the original play, featuring scenes everyone can relate to. Hiron delves into the complexity, anxiety, messiness, and hormonal world of ‘the date’ with ease, joyfully jettisoning fluffy, cuddly romance as Ryan and Laura’s uneasy journey toward love unfolds before our eyes.
Director: Rachel Hirons
Cast: Naomi Willow, Alexandra Roach, George MacKay, Michael Socha
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