In 1970, Cherry Vanilla played Amanda Pork in Andy Warhol’s Pork, his only play. First performed at New York’s La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in May 1971, the show relocated to London’s Roundhouse theatre. Cherry once again played Pork, a character based on Warhol’s polaroid pal Brigid Berlin, the Mrs Pork to his Mr Pork. Anthony Zanetta became B. Marlowe, the character based on Andy Warhol.
Pork was based on tape-recorded conversations between Brigid and Warhol, during which Brigid would play Andy tapes she had made of phone conversations between herself and her mother, socialite Honey Berlin – Brigid turned calling Honey into a stage show, sitting on a chair and entertaining the proles with calls home.
A poster for Andy Warhol’s play Pork
Was it any good? David Bowie thought it was, telling William S. Burroughs in 1974 when the writer visited his London home: “I want to get [Pork] on to TV. TV has eaten up everything else, and Warhol films are all that is left, which is fabulous. Pork could become the next I Love Lucy, the great American domestic comedy. It’s about how people really live, not like Lucy, who never touched dishwater. It’s about people living and hustling to survive. That’s what Pork is all about. A smashing of the spectacle.”
Pictures are NSFW.
British actress Julia Breck (left) as the telephonist in a scene from Andy Warhol’s play ‘Pork’, 29th July 1971.
American actress Cherry Vanilla (Kathleen Dorritie) in a group sex scene from Andy Warhol’s play ‘Pork’, 29th July 1971.
American actress Cherry Vanilla (Kathleen Dorritie, centre) in a scene from Andy Warhol’s play ‘Pork’, 29th July 1971.
Geri Miller as Josie
A scene from the play (via Rex)
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