‘Project XXX’: Using multimedia theatre to explore sexual and emotional health issues

What if when Romeo met Juliet he was already addicted to Internet porn, and wanted to film their first sexual experience and upload it for all the world to see? ‘Project XXX’ was a four year creative project run by Kim Wiltshire and Paul Hine, the aim of which was to create a piece of multimedia theatre that would explore the effect the availability and mainstreaming of Internet porn might be having on the lives of young people. Through a series of participatory workshops material was collated to create the multimedia play which toured the north of England in 2014, supplemented by further workshops and discussions around the subject, using theatre as a public forum for discussion of a sensitive subject that was very much in the public consciousness at the time. This article explores the process for the artists in researching and creating a piece of work on this subject, as well as considering the outcomes and findings from both the initial stages of the research into the issue and the creative issues faced in bringing this piece of work to the professional stage.