Over-60s steal the show at Sydney Festival with “All the sex I’ve ever had”
<p>They’re real people, with real stories. A group of Sydney’s over-65s draws on all their wisdom and experience to share true stories of their sex lives.</p>
<p><em>“Casual sex in my youth was like having a stand up take away meal; And the sex I was having a lot later in life with my partner was like a degustation meal – it was a beautiful setting with a glorious atmosphere and superb wines, divine food and linen table clothes; it was the full bang and there’s no comparison,”</em> reveals Judith.</p>
<p>Judith is 71-years-old and this is her experience of sex when she was a teenager compared to sex as a mature adult. She is a part of “All the sex I’ve ever had” at Sydney Festival.</p>
<p>Over60 sat down with the cast behind this taboo-busting, tell-all show as they explained the benefits of publically discussing sex. For Judith her drive was to inform, educate and remind people that sex is, in fact, a normal part of life – at every age.</p>
<p><em>“I don’t want my sexual history to be gentrified out of existence because what I was doing was part of the sexual revolution in the 60s and 70s and thousands of Australians and New Zealanders were part of it and I want that to be acknowledged,”</em> she says.</p>
<p>Similar to Judith, 65-year-old Elizabeth, another cast member, believes that sex and taboo topics should be spoken about amongst all ages in society.</p>
<p><em>“It makes taboo topics be less taboo,</em>” Elizabeth explains. <em>“Younger people need to remember that we didn’t wake up one day and boom we’re old… we’ve all been there and they’re going to go there as well…. put old advice on young shoulders it can be beneficial in numerous areas particularly contraception and safe sex.”</em></p>
<p>For both Ronaldo and Paul, who came out after the age of 50, it’s about the importance of being (and staying) true to oneself.</p>
<p><em>“When I grew up there was no information about sex hence why it took me 50 years to realise I was gay,” </em>Ronaldo reveals, and goes on with advice for anyone in a similar situation:<em> “Ask for help, there’s a lot of information out there and organisations that will help people – even for men that are married and gay or bisexual there’s a lot of help out there these days which wasn’t available before – we have to see that there’s many ways we can be in this world.”</em></p>
<p>Ronaldo also set out to remind everyone that sex is common now, was common in the past and will be in the future. <em>“I just wish people would be less fearful of talking about sex because it’s been going on for millions of years and will continue to do so I hope.”</em> </p>
<p>Speaking of the future, Paul believes that society needs to understand, acknowledge and cater for all types of people despite their age and sexual preference.</p>
<p><em>“I’m getting to an age where I’ll be needing aged services either in a home or facility of some sort and I need to know when I go there I won’t be walking back into the closet,” he explains. “I need to know that where I go who I am will still be accepted and that my cultural references will be there: that if I want to wear drag I will be able to do as I please,” </em>he says. </p>
<p>Born and conceived during the war in London, Jennifer, 73, eldest of the lot had something very interesting to say about confidence levels at a later age.</p>
<p><em>“When you’re much older you’re far more confident, well I am anyway and I decide for myself what the boundaries are,</em>” she said with a smile. </p>
<p><em>“Life is full of lost opportunities and there’s a lot of things I wish I had done and some things I wish I hadn’t done,”</em> Jennifer adds, making it clear that life is to be enjoyed to the fullest with no regrets.</p>
<p>Jennifer’s excited to take the audience on a journey to see her change and grow and more importantly detail exactly how she was back then; in a time simply unlike today.</p>
<p><em>“We were without parental control for the first time in our life, I was 21 we had raging hormones, the pill had been invented, AIDS hadn’t, we were at sea for six weeks and there was duty free booze – add it up…”</em> </p>
<p>If you didn’t manage to <em>“add it up” </em>as Judith so blatantly puts it, this is a snippet of the sexual revolution she was part of. Labelling herself as previously <em>“one of the more promiscuous girls”</em> Judith has a clear message for what she expects the audience to take away from the show.</p>
<p><em>“I want the crowd to recognise that its normal and natural to talk about sex regardless of age, it’s not something to be ashamed of, everyone has sex and if we didn’t have sex none of us would be here - it’s just another part of life,”</em> she says.</p>
<p>And it’s not just the shows starts that agree on the importance of discussing sex publically. Comically yet carefully created by the team behind Haircuts by Children (Sydney Festival 2008), Mammalian artistic and research director, Darren told Over60 that he wishes to evoke a sense of generosity through story telling.</p>
<p><em>“What I’m hoping for is that the audience understands what it looks like to be courageous and recount embarrassing parts of their life… A social place people haven’t been to before, sharing intimate stories; we want to induce this intense feeling of generosity for everybody and that’s what’s valued the most,”</em> he explains.</p>
<p>He also went on to add that there’s no time like the present to spice up your sex life, any age, with anyone, anywhere. <em>“You’re never too old to spark it up; there’s lots of people who are interested in dating… we all need to be assured that you’re still good for the dating world and people will still find you attractive and don’t forget that.”</em></p>
<p>All we can say is that by the looks of things the show is going to be an absolute hit for people of all ages and inclinations because the importance lies beneath each individual’s personal life journey, not just within a silly story about sex.</p>
<p>The event organizers have confirmed that an additional show (Friday January 22 at 2pm) was added due to overwhelming popularity and high demand from viewers. </p>
<p>The show premieres on January 21 at 7:30pm at the Sydney Opera House, Drama Theatre. </p>
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