Luka is addicted to porn, or at least watches far more than she should, and Jules is immersed in a pay-to-view habit that’s taking over his phone and bank balance. It’s secret and personal but the compulsion to watch is spilling into real life, even the workplace. Luka and Jules are strangers but when professions collide come to discover that their secrets aren’t so strange or dirty after all.
What unfolds is a love story with laughs but far from the hearts and roses romcom genre. It’s difficult and tentative, honest and at times harsh as two addicts turn away from the screen and choose to focus on the real world, on quitting and on each other. Unfortunately, after a diet of porn stars with perfect bodies, connecting in real life seems messy. There’s not just the physicality, there’s feelings to think of too—it’s not as simple as a quick kick when there’s no off button.
As Luka and Jules, Alice McCarthy and Oliver Husband offer neatly pitched performances, sharp and witty but also realistic and occasionally touching. As their world changes, the projections of place names grow in detail each scene until there is finally some colour in the black and white world.
Whilst containing laughter lines aplenty, this is a show that also asks probing questions about the nature of addiction and different coping mechanisms at times of stress. As Luka so passionately asserts: everyone gets their kicks from somewhere, so why should she be judged?