A hit at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in 2008, The Girlfriend Experience is a unique documentary play, created entirely from conversations recorded in a real brothel.

Alecky Blythe’s hilarious and eye-opening script draws back the net curtains to reveal a very different view of the oldest profession. Worlds away from newspaper stereotypes of streetwalkers hooked on heroin or glamorous belle de jours, she depicts a cosy melee of garden gnomes, PVC, flat-pack furniture, watersports, cuddles and the full Girlfriend Experience.

Blythe’s style of verbatim theatre, which is seen in The Girlfriend Experience, is very much her trademark. Her first play Come Out Eli, which was staged at the Arcola theatre, won the Time Out Award for Best Performance on the Fringe. Her other plays include Cruising and Strawberry Fields.

The Girlfriend Experience plays at the Young Vic with the same cast that made it a sell-out success at the Royal Court: Debbie Chazen, Esther Coles, Lu Cornfield, Beatie Edney and Alex Lowe.