Life Would be Pretty Dull Without Sex, Raves and MDMA opens Wednesday 21st October at the Bread & Roses Theatre, bringing audiences into this wild, outrageous and darkly funny rollercoaster. Learn more about what you can expect:
1. Where did the idea come from?
The idea for the show came the day after New Year’s Day. We’d been out raving to bring in the New Year, and the morning after, I was chatting to my best mate Brendan about how much more successful we’d probably be in our lives and careers if we didn’t keep getting distracted by sex and MDMA and going off on little side quests.
We said that if we put all that energy into our work, we’d probably be really successful. But then we came to the conclusion that we get so much joy from raving, meeting people on the dance floor, sex and all the experiences that come with it, that if we took all of that away, our lives would be pretty dull. And that’s really where the essence of the show came from.
2. How much of the show is inspired by true events?
It’s very loosely based on my own true story. I’d told my co-writer parts of my story when we started collaborating, and then when we got the producer and everyone else on board, they were just amazed by the actual story. They always say sometimes truth is better than fiction!
Some bits have obviously been dramatised for theatrical purposes. We worked with a dramaturg and changed some of the relationships and characters. For example, there might have been multiple people in real life, but for the play we simplified things and sometimes made those characters into one person.
So it’s definitely inspired by my life, but it’s not a literal retelling of it.
3. Why did rave culture feel such an important part of the story?
The story actually starts in the 90s, when I’m 14 and my mum asks my 21-year-old big brother to babysit me — but instead, he takes me to my first rave!
So you see rave culture through the innocence of a teenager discovering this completely new world. Then Bex grows up, hangs up her raving shoes for a while, and eventually rediscovers it in her 40s.
For me, it’s about much more than partying. It’s about connection, freedom, friendship and joy. It’s about the people you meet on the dance floor and the relationships and memories you create along the way. So the show isn’t really about rave culture as a collective story — it’s one very personal story and how raving has been part of Bex’s life at very different stages.
4. The show explores grief alongside joy. Why was this important?
Because that’s life, isn’t it? You’re not going to go through life with just joy and everybody being happy all the time. Everyone is going to experience some sort of grief, and I think the hard times, if you like, make the good times even better.
The show is really an emotional rollercoaster between grief and joy. There are some pretty dark moments, but there’s also a lot of laughter, sex, dancing, ridiculousness and joy.
5. Is Bex’s journey ultimately about rebellion, freedom or survival?
I’d say survival. Bex is a fighter. She wants to survive, and the way she chooses to live her life is also about finding joy. In a way, she needs those experiences — the sex, the raves, the chaos, the connection — to survive.
It’s not necessarily about rebelling for the sake of rebelling. It’s about finding the things that make life worth living.
6. What has been the most enjoyable part about creating Life Would Be Pretty Dull Without Sex, Raves and MDMA?
Definitely working with one of my best mates, Sarah Santae Gregory, who is bloody amazing and who helped make this whole thing happen.
Getting the funding and actually getting the show to Edinburgh was a massive achievement, especially because it was such a rocky journey. Two weeks before Edinburgh, right in the middle of our rehearsal process, I was actually in hospital with sepsis!
But somehow we got there, did every single show and made it happen. So I think the most enjoyable part has been the people I’ve done it with, and seeing something that started as an idea actually become a real play and get out there.
And now I’m just really excited about what the future holds for the show.
Life Would be Pretty Dull Without Sex, Raves and MDMA opens Wednesday 21st October at the Bread & Roses Theatre. Many thanks to Becca Wall for answering our questions. Book your tickets here!
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