On 29 July 2009, a 14-year-old girl was given an on-air lie detector test on a live Sydney radio program. Clearly agitated, the girl announced that she had been raped when she was 12. This infamous incident has been used to examine changes in the way young people engage with sex and sexuality. The rapid advances in communications technology, the proliferation of pornography and the depiction of sexuality as power are changing young people’s attitudes to sex. How do young people negotiate these conflicting messages?
In a social media-saturated performance space, The Tender Age examines the contradictions in the way society educates young people about sexuality, and the ways in which young people themselves negotiate relationships framed by social technologies. Devised and performed by a mixed ensemble of artists from version 1.0 and the Australian Theatre for Young People, The Tender Age is eye-opening, gut-wrenching, and utterly compelling theatre. Presented by Carriageworks, A Version 1.0 and Australian Theatre for Young People.