The Year of Magical Wanking is an autobiographical one man show delivered in hypnotic verse. Homosexual Irish actor Neil Watkins draws upon his personal journey of recovery from sex addiction. The show sees Watkins share revealing stories about his formerly destructive sex life and the emotional processes that accompany his Catholic guilt.
Speaking to OUTinPerth, Watkins told us that sharing his experiences on stage was at first a nerve racking undertaking – but on the opening night of the show the actor had a reprieve from sharing his most intimate confessions.
‘The power blew the first night I performed it Dubin… it was right in the city centre and I was like a quarter way through and I was about to get to, what is for me, one of the darkness parts of the show, and at that point the power blew and I was so relieved.’
The actor was glad to find out however that the audience had enjoyed the parts of the show that they had seen, and he continued performing a little bit more it for the appreciative crowd out on the street.
‘Everyone lit me with their iPhones, and it was kind of a magical moment.’
The following day the actor had a small part in a film with the respected actor Martin Sheen. Although he didn’t discuss his theatrical project with Sheen, Watkins felt that being in the presence of the great actor – who famously revealed so much of his own inner torment in the opening scene of Apocalypse Now and who has stood by his own son’s public battle with addiction – was a sign.
‘I thought “well he’s gone out on the edge, he took a risk and he’s a very successful man and a happy man, and also a very spiritual man,” so that felt for me like an angel arriving to guide me and encourage me to go on.’
Watkins hopes that the show is foremost an engaging and entertaining theatrical experience but acknowledges that it can also lead to important conversations. Talking about sex, Watkins said, is sometimes not the easiest conversation to kick start…
‘It’s the most natural thing in the world but we’re afraid to talk about it. So somewhere along the line we’ve been conditioned to feel shame around this discussion.
‘The message of the show really is “tell your story” and that’s from a therapeutic point of view. To be able to tell your own story is to somehow come into a peace with yourself… On one level I do this show just so I can just have open honest conversations with people, so we can quit the bullshit.’
Watkins stresses that the show is for everyone regardless of their orientation and doesn’t believe that sexual addiction is more prevalent in the gay community.
‘I would say that sexual shame is more prevalent in the gay community, because gay people have been particularly ostracised for what they do in bed. So that’s where the damning begins with their sexual preference. Of course sexual shame occurs for straight people as well. I’ve gone to meetings and I’ve got to say sex addicts meetings are not entirely populated by gay people.
The Year of Magical Wanking is at The Metcalfe Playhouse as part of Fringeworld from January 31 to February 11.
Graeme Watson
