Part stand-up, part takedown of capitalism, part wannabe dancing dildo musical, this new one-woman play is a celebration of resilience, humour - and sex toys.
For those in the know, Rough Trade Sydney is a priceless source of niche humour, mutual aid and trade – be it in objects or skills – but never in cash. The complete lineage of the community Facebook group is not so simple to track down. The group has been Zucced (deleted from the platform) on more than one occasion, but it always manages to rise from the ashes. Someone else’s landfill is another person’s treasure. From new life for intimate objects that hold memories of lovers past, to finding people to practice speaking English with, to advice on navigating a particular issue in the medical system, or exchanging boots for a better fit – the trades must go on. At present, there are nearly five thousand members.
Through an intricate web of objects and a drive for community and connection, the members of Rough Trade are giving the giant middle finger to capitalism, with trades that are funny, sexy, strange and touching. Inspired by these true stories, playwright Katie Pollock peels back the layers to reveal a character for whom life has taken a series of wrong turns, leaving her in a place where she is dependent on this internet community for her very survival. Time Out had a chat with Pollock about how Rough Trade the group became Rough Trade the play.
“One of the best things about Rough Trade is that there is no judgement on anybody for what they either put up for trade or what they are seeking to trade,” she says.
“And so sometimes those can be very personal things that can be things that make people feel very vulnerable. Or it can be, you know, hilarious, sexy, kinky things. And it's very well moderated by the administrators. So if people start trolling somebody, they're just booted out, no questions asked. They're very protective of the members. And that's what I love about it as well, that it feels like a very safe space.
...there's an underlay, a serious message there, which is, you know, capitalism can go fuck itself
“I love the attitude of the people in the group. I love what it's doing politically, ecologically, in terms of social activism. And it's doing it in such a fun, witty, hilarious way. I can't remember the exact moment where I went, ‘I know, I'll turn it into a play’. I think the idea just crept up on me,” says Pollock.
She took inspiration from the play Tiny Beautiful Things, based on the best-selling book by Cheryl Strayed, which was in turn based on an agony aunt column. She thought if that could be turned into a play, so could the stories she came across on Rough Trade. After consulting with the group's administrators, Pollock put out a call-out in the group in January 2021, trading people’s stories for coffee and cake. About 25 in-person interviews happened, as well as many more anecdotes shared by messenger.
“There was one point where I was like, having three coffees and cakes a day. I was going ‘oh my god, I can't possibly eat any more cake!’,” she says. One interviewee considers lemons their top currency. Another two people were interviewed together, they became friends through the group after one of them needed some slugs removed from their garden but couldn’t bear to touch them. That turn of events has gone down in Rough Trade lore, and has become a big part of the show.
“Because I've been sort of living with this for quite a long time, I think there's a bunch of stuff that's just seeped in without me really noticing. I suspect that if there are people from Rough Trade in the audience, when that comes out, there'll be drops of recognition,” she adds.
In its initial form, the first ten minutes of Rough Trade the play debuted at a scratch night at Merrigong Theatre Company with three actors sharing multiple roles. The scratch show was well received, but after she was unable to find a way to progress that version of the story, Pollock scratched it, and did something she has never seen through before – she wrote a one-woman play that puts her on the stage. An esteemed playwright with credits including The Hansard Monologues, Normal and The Becoming, Pollock has rarely been seen on the other side of the curtain.
“It’s really interesting to flex a different muscle… you think you know what you've written as the writer, but then you put on this performer brain, and you go ‘wow, I did not know that was there’, or ‘I can see a totally different way into that from what I thought I had written’,” she says.
I can't remember the exact moment where I went, ‘I know, I'll turn it into a play’. I think the idea just crept up on me
In casting herself, Pollock is also centering the story on someone from an often-neglected demographic: women over the age of 55. “It's a bit of a Trojan horse, let's put it that way,” she says.
“Of course, the subject matter is funny and sexy and light and joyful. But the character has found herself in a position where she relies on that group for some basic goods, and there are a lot of people in the group who are in that situation. It is becoming more spoken about in policy and in media, but it's a massive problem that women of a particular age find themselves no longer readily employable. They might have had family breakdown through violence or divorce, or they probably haven't earned too much compared to men over their lifetime. They don't have enough super. And if they don't own their own property, suddenly they find themselves in a really precarious position.
“I don't want to get too heavy about it because it's a fun show. But at the same time, there's an underlay, a serious message there, which is, you know, capitalism can go fuck itself. So can the patriarchy, because these things are systematically working against women in particular. But also people of colour, transgender people, gay people, poor people, people with a disability, anyone who doesn't fit the dominant heteronormative, male, white middle-class paradigm is getting fucked. And I think the more we talk about it, we can do better.”
And just sometimes, when we talk about it, that conversation can also involve dancing dildos.
Rough Trade is part of the 2022 Sydney Fringe’s Made in Sydney program. It plays at the Seymour Centre, Chippendale, from September 6-10 and at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, from September 15-16. Book here.
If you’re a left-leaning type who thinks that Rough Trade, the group, sounds like your kinda place, look it up on Facebook. All hopeful members need to answer the entry questions to be considered.