IT RAINS DIAMONDS ON JUPITER Explores Escort Work At University And Beyond

Something wasn't quite right with Olivia Bennet's rise from student to broadcaster. There were no secret meetings, no neighbours giving a nod and a wink over the boozy summer garden party trifle, no Oxbridge alumni networks.

There was graft and hard work. And Olivia also had sex, and lots of it.

It Rains Diamonds on Jupiter is a play about choosing to become an escort because you want to do things like buy milk, or do an unpaid internship. It's about seeing sex work as a choice, and a choice made for a boring reason at that. It's also about the fear of this choice becoming common knowledge, and the threat that society, your friends, and your family will shun you.

Performed at The Drayton Arms Theatre between 18-22nd June, directed by Anastasia Bruce-Jones, is based on a collection of true stories about sex work at university. It doesn't condemn sex work, and offers up questions throughout such as, can feminists support sex work (yes) and are all people who use sex workers evil? (Obviously not).

Eleanor Ross, who wrote the play, says: "Whenever you discuss sex work, there's always a reaction. It Rains Diamonds On Jupiter reminds us that sex work isn't bad. It's a job, like anything else. But it also shows how difficult it can be to own being a sex worker, when feminist factions of society can totally crap all over that decision."

Female sexuality is a talking point right now. Men have dictated the sexual conversation for so many years, and I wanted to write a play that challenged the concept that those who engaged in sex work were desperate or 'sluts', says Eleanor. "I wanted to explore the idea of someone who on a whim decided to escort after watching a TV show, and realised that like any job, there were good and bad bits. The worst bit for Olivia is when she realises that the choices she made early on in her life had been deemed the 'wrong choice' by society, so she feels constantly in danger of being exposed."

The creative team of It Rains Diamonds On Jupiter is all female.

Eleanor Ross' short plays have been shown at theatres across London, from the Arcola to the Southwark Playhouse, the Pleasance to the Old Red Lion. She is a journalist originally, writing for the Guardian, BBC and Sunday Times among others, and has traditionally covered human rights and foreign affairs stories. She writes for podcasts, radio, papers and is a published author.

"I also wanted to write characters who are incidentally queer, so Olivia and her girlfriend Jai just happen to be gay. The storyline isn't about them coming out or having a crisis about queer sexuality, which is something that's missing in so many plays that purport to promote LGBTQ+ storylines," she adds.

Laura Furner produces work that develops meaningful connections between the arts and charitable organisations. Laura's collaborative work with the Roundhouse Rising Festival in 2018 engaged with a range of homelessness organisations within a diverse programme of events, and in 2015 her curatorial project with female asylum-seekers living in Leeds was nominated for a community citizenship award.

Anastasia Bruce-Jones directs a wide range of theatre, from Renaissance verse to Gilbert and Sullivan, 20th Century classics to new writing. She has recently directed a tour of The Tempest around the USA and UK, Patience at the Minack theatre in Cornwall and her own play, LOUD // in Babel at the Edinburgh Fringe. She has just finished working on The Amber Trap at Theatre503 and is currently directing several new writing nights, including Flux's EMERGE 4 at The Bunker.

CAST

• Olivia - Rosanna Suppa
• Jai - Oriana Charles
• Sara - Raksha Hoost
• Bill - Jacob Melling
• Harold - Duncan Hess
• Brian - Jonny Cox Vinell
• Dale/David - Philip Laing

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