Talking about sex: An insight into the age of super-longevity

With their works that fully engage with the local community, Mammalian Diving Reflex connects people in surprising ways that are tailored to the location and society in which they are performing. They captured the hearts of Kyoto’s children with The Children’s Choice Awards at Kyoto Experiment 2017, and now they are making their long-awaited return.

Can you tell us a story about sex? This is a piece of “dialogue-based” theater in which seniors over 60 with diverse backgrounds and a wealth of experience talk about their lives through their own sexual experiences. The Japanese seniors, who are of different genders, nationalities, and levels of physical ability, come together to share stories about sex that are not normally discussed in public, and go on to speak candidly about their lives in their own words. To talk about sex is to talk about life. In some ways the work is about courage, but it is also a story of intergenerational dialogue, in which the baton is passed from the elderly to the younger generation.

In today’s society that tends to focus only on the cultures of the younger generations, we can surely broaden our perspectives on the future by listening to the thoughts, views, and life stories of our seniors. This is the Japanese premiere of the highly acclaimed work that has been performed all over the world in Europe, North America, Asia and elsewhere, through workshops with locally gathered cast members.