Gangbang Story on Stage
By Bob Preston
Saturday, January 20, 2007
SINGAPORE — Former adult star Annabel Chong became famous by supposedly having sex with 251 men in a 10-hour period. A theater company in Singapore plans to bring her story to the stage this year in a play called
251, much to the bemusement of Chong's former promoter, John T. Bone.
"There must be absolutely fucking nothing going on in Singapore," he told XFANZ.
But Bone hastened to add that his dismissal of the production wasn't fair. He figured that the Singapore's Toy Factory Theatre Ensemble were probably writing about "the myth and the legend" of Chong.
Not surprisingly, he also said that Chong's claim to fame was a myth itself -- "a scam." But more on that later.
So, is Bone right about those hapless theater professionals in Singapore? Do they have too much time on their hands, or does Chong present a compelling figure for the stage?
Loretta Chen, director of 251, said the proliferation of online sex videos inspired her and her creative team to dramatize Chong's life.
"When I read about these sex videos ... I realized Annabel Chong, in a way, pioneered it 10 years ago," Chen told The New Paper. "And then I thought about her record and how this country is so obsessed about breaking records and all the discussions in the media last year ... I wondered how someone like Annabel would be received today. Whether we understand it or not, what she did was impactful and still reverberates in our collective psyche."
In the annals of marathon sex, Chong's performance in The World's Biggest Gangbang is generally regarded as the first attempt at a record-breaking, large-scale gangbang. And while it may have set a record, Bone said that the finally tally of 251 men was as hyped-up as the event itself.
"Oh, she had sex with 251 guys -- but she didn't," Bone said. "She had sex with a lot of guys, but not that many. It was a show, not reality -- an event, a happening, Hollywood, fountains and fantasy."
Chong herself confirms this. In 2000, she told online magazine Spike that she only took on about 70 men.
As a person, Bone said that Chong wasn't "the brightest penny in the bunch," but 251 director Chen called her "intellectual" whose fame spread all the way back to her native Singapore.
"[Chong] is such an urban legend in a way," Chen said. "It seems everybody knows somebody who knew her in school -- like a six degrees of Annabel. I wanted to present a different perspective to what we know of Annabel from that sensational video."
But was the original video sensational? Bone said that he and his team spent a lot of money on the event, which (according to him) was shot on a soundstage and included a caviar breakfast for the press.
Chen, though, called the final product "the most anti-porn porn video" because it was shot in such "a documentary-like manner" that it wouldn't arouse anybody.
In any event, Bone lamented the passing of those days of Hollywood, fountains and fantasy, saying that Chong's gangbang marked their end because it was the first time the adult world and the rest of the world came in direct contact.
"After that, everybody got on the bandwagon, and it became a job," he said.
Annabel Chong herself retired from the adult industry in 2003. The producers of 251 said they managed to contact her about their production. Chen said that Chong told them they could do whatever they wanted.
"She said her Annabel days are over," Chen said.
The Toy Factory Theatre Ensemble's production of 251 will star Cynthia Lee-Mcquarrie as Chong.
Bone now keeps a regular blog at JohnTBone.com.
