At Performance Works NW, a new show from Genderbomb builds radical intimacy through kink. Are audiences prepared? by Lindsay Costello “What you witness at this show will be art made for the moment by people who aren’t so much pu tting on a play, but caught in the middle of play,” read the print program for Impact Play. Produced by trans stage art ensemble Genderbomb, the new anthology showcase of shorts, staged at Performance Works, seemed to mean “caught in the middle of a play” quite literally at times. For example, before the show officially began on opening night, Genderbomb founder Hazel Andersen laid onstage covered in cut vegetables, hummus dips balanced carefully on either thigh. Attendees ventured forward to pluck crudités from the “human platter.” The moment worked well, successfully encouraging audience collaboration through kink exploration.  In Sara Fay Goldman’s “Carve,” the performer wobbled and writhed, wearing pumpkins and squash, which were bound in intricate rope configurations as stand-ins for genitalia. The audience cheered. And when performers Cassandra and Jack Ranger—AKA Assault and Pepper—invited an audience volunteer into the titular “impact play” of erotic hitting, they did so with intentionality and a playful sense of care. Sara Fay Goldman in “Carve,” Impact Play's first act. LINDSAY COSTELLO The ticket page we saw for Impact Play carried content warnings for sex, kink, nudity, violence, screams, simulated abuse, gore, and cannibalism. And to be honest, that was intriguing—but those warnings are easy to overlook, found only by clicking a small “more details” link. The printed program explained this was a work of “theater viscera… characterized by its use of full contact and real situations to provoke true responses from actors and audience alike. This kind of work relies on the strength of our communication and community.” When we arrived at the show, additional warnings were listed in the program, such as “fluids,” “choking,” and “sharp objects.” These disclosures would have been more effective if reinforced verbally at the top of the show. During Nik Indie’s “Bunny,” which included simulated child sexual assault—shortened to “CSA” on both the ticket page and in the show’s printed program—members of the audience seemed a little unsettled. That was perhaps intentional, we realize, but paper screens installed near the entrance complicated a quick exit, should anyone have felt too overwhelmed by the content. Sara Fay Goldman and Nik Indie in "Bunny," Impact Play's final act. LINDSAY COSTELLO When Impact Play leans into collaboration and care, the show moves toward the kind of radical intimacy it aims to cultivate. A safe space to explore nonconformist desires while building community? Powerful, transgressive stage works by trans artists? We’re so on board. It’s during moments that lack strong, informed participation that Impact Play struggles to connect. “If you’re offended, tell your friends,” said Andersen as the show concluded. Like Impact Play itself, the line fell somewhere between a tongue-in-cheek invitation and a challenge. Impact Play plays at Performance Works Northwest, 4625 SE 67th, Fri-Sat Jan 23-24, SOLD OUT, pwnw-pdx.org, 18+. ...read more read less