A night of erotica comes to the SWF

In just a few days, the Walsh Bay precinct and its surrounds will open its doors for the annual Sydney Writers Festival (SWF).

And one of last year’s sold out events— Erotic Fan Fiction— returns to the festival for one night only.

“It really is an excuse to get great writers… to write really disgusting filth and then read it in front of an audience,” local curator and founder of Erotic Fan Fiction, Eddie Sharpe says.

Erotic Fan Fiction began in Sydney in 2006 with a simple precis: the team asks writers they admire to write a short piece about a fictional character, or celebrity and then read it out in public.

And with a new batch of writers and performers this year, it is sure to be another successful year.

Sharp says the embarrassment that comes with reading a dirty story in front of a crowd is a courageous act.

“There’s a real sense of shame and embarrassment that comes together in a dirty way,” he says.

“It’s such an act of bravery to get up on stage and read them (the stories).”

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the team—back when the show began in 2006—at the first night, there were more readers than audience members.

“No one came to the first event,” Sharp says.

But the first night didn’t deter the team—which this year also includes Ewen Leslie, Virginia Gay and Charlie Garber.

“However, it’s one of the few things that I’ve ever done that has been instantly successful,” Sharp says.

Sharp is also the co-founder of the Imperial Panda Festival, a two and half week performance festival that was held earlier this year, which included some of Australia’s best “new makers”— performers, artists, writers and chefs coming together to attract new audiences by presenting shows in “non-traditional spaces”.

Sharp is also a writer and performer and has a degree in performance and video from COFA.

He has been spending the last three months approaching writers to be a part of the SWF.

“The strike rate is about 70 per cent,” he says.

“I’m constantly harassing people.”

Although he couldn’t divulge specific details of the night, he says the team has also commissioned people to read scary stories at the end of the night.

You can see Eddie and the team on May 20, Pier 2/3 Club Stage Hickson Road, Walsh Bay at 7pm. They will also be joined by the Chaser boys.

The SWF begins on Monday May 16 and runs through to May 22.

Go to www.swf.org.au for more details about upcoming events.