Review: Phone Whore (Zoofest)

Story Mistress

Cameryn Moore doesn't phone it in

by Rebecca Ugolini

Sit in on the graveyard shift of the phone sex operator beat in Cameryn Moore’s Phone Whore, a one-woman show that has “Larissa” sitting at home in her pyjamas, taking calls, getting sexy, and talking shop. 

Although “Larissa” is a pseudonym, Moore’s own experiences as a phone sex operator inspire the script, contributing to Phone Whore’s earnest and unquestionably real quality. It’s clear why Moore’s clients, as she testified in the Q&A session which followed opening night, keep coming back: Moore is a masterful storyteller, and she transforms seemingly effortlessly from one persona to another as she takes each new call.

Phone Whore’s brilliance lies in Moore’s ability to simultaneously entertain and educate, and although the calls with her clients explore every fetish and kink imaginable from the just-plain-strange to the controversial, Moore knows how to turn the audience’s shocked reaction on its head, emphasizing the importance of safe spaces for individuals to explore their sexual urges which society deems taboo. She illustrates the point by drawing attention to how many of her all-male clientele call to request same-sex fantasies, but feel the need to code that request in affirmations of their heterosexuality. We’re lucky, Moore tells us, if we can accept our turn-ons and live safely in our own minds, a luxury for many riddled by guilt, shame and denial over their societally-shunned kinks. 

Some audience members may exit a little more shocked than others, as appeared to be the case on opening night, but Moore’s message is an important one, well worth suffering a little discomfort. Thought-provoking, but never preachy, Phone Whore is edgy and funny, but it packs serious heart, and it’s not to be missed this Zoofest. 

Phone Whore is part of Zoofest