Bob Hess and Wendy Welch in 'Sexy Laundry' at Watertower Theatre. Photo by: Kelsey Leigh Ervi

Sexy Laundry

By Michele Riml

Armed with a copy of “Sex for Dummies,” Alice and Henry check themselves into a trendy spa hotel with a mission: to jump-start their 25-year marriage. Time has taken its toll – so have kids, stress and gravity. In desperation, Alice has decided that they either make this final, major effort to save their marriage, or they get a divorce and go their separate ways. Can they embrace all the wild suggestions Alice keeps pulling from her handy-dandy marriage-saving manual? Does Alice have the courage to unearth her inner vixen? Is Henry prepared to see his fifty-plus wife, and mother of his children, dressed in black leather?

Alice and Henry share their erotic fantasies, exchange recriminations, and take turns confessing the details of their mid-life crises as the play flips from comedic to serious and back again. Henry and Alice’s touching and hilarious rediscovery of themselves and their inspiring efforts to restore their marriage will resonate with audiences of all ages. By turns poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, Sexy Laundry is a romantic comedy guaranteed to strike a deep and resounding chord.

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"Riml hits all the right notes here. In addition to being hilarious, Sexy Laundry is observant, moving, risqué, and even a bit of a tear jerker."
The Vancouver SunVancouver, Canada

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"While their sparring provides much hilarity, between the barbs are painful and touching moments of a couple scraping the dark corners of their marriage."
LA WeeklyLos Angeles, United States

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"Sexy Laundry awash with laughter...is gut-bustingly funny, with comic lines piled one on the other."
Edmonton SunEdmonton, Canada

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“Sexy Laundry is a Sweet Romantic Comedy”

“…delivers plenty of laughs and is chock full of awkward moments…underneath it all is a touching and tender narrative that is sure to leave the audience with a smile on their face.”

"It has all the wit and whimsy of your typical romantic comedy, but is generously matched with an underlying sense of tension, desire and compassion that hooks you in from the very beginning."
Broadway WorldHouston, TX

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"(Sexy Laundry is a)...cunning, punchy little play, directed with deft pacing and vigour."
The GazetteMontreal, Canada

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"Sexy Laundry is exquisite, drawn from the reality of long-lived partnerships, it is a well-observed story on matrimonial slaughter. The playwright could not let her heroes down. The more the audience watches, the more they recognize themselves in the characters."
Pravo NovinyPrague, Czech Republic

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"...a splendidly funny and resonant production..."
The Ottawa CitizenOttawa, Canada

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"Don't miss Sexy Laundry. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll probably see yourself. That's a lot from one evening of theatre."
The Hamilton SpectatorHamilton, Canada

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"Sexy Laundry rinses the boredom out of a tired relationship, and has a good time along the way."

"Sexy Laundry is light and delicate but surprisingly substantial in its treatment of a subject that matters to quite a few baby boomers who are finding the long years of a committed relationship to be less a matter of enjoying romance and more a matter of tolerating someone who can drive you crazy."
Star TribuneMinneapolis, MN

Production Details

1 Male

1 Female

Available as a 1 act (85 minutes) or 2 act (100 minutes with intermission)

By Michele Riml

Purchase Play Script

UK premiere of Sexy Laundry, Tabard Theatre, featuring Felicity Duncan, Nick Raggett - Photo Andreas Grieger

UK premiere of Sexy Laundry, Tabard Theatre, featuring Nick Raggett, Felicity Duncan - Photo Andreas Grieger

UK premiere of Sexy Laundry, Tabard Theatre, featuring Nick Raggett - Photo Andreas Grieger

May 20, 2014

ONGOING: Sexy Laundry (“Szexpedíció”) – Spirit Theater (Hungary) May 2019 – Present

May 15, 2014

ONGOING: Sexy Laundry (“Seksi Rublje”) – Kazaliste Virovitica (Croatia) 2018 – Present

May 13, 2014

ONGOING: Sexy Laundry (“Seks Dla Opornych”) – Teatr Wspolczesny (Wspolczesny, Poland) November 2012 – Present

May 12, 2014

ONGOING: Sexy Laundry (“Sex pro pokročilé”) – Studio DVA (Prague, Czech Republic), September 2014 – Present

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Production History

Since its first performances in 2004/5 at the Belfry Theatre (Victoria, BC) and the Arts Club Theatre Company (Vancouver, BC), Sexy Laundry has become one of Canada’s most produced plays of the past decade.

It has been produced extensively across Canada by the first class regional theatres such as the aforementioned Arts Club Theatre Company (Vancouver, BC) as well as Stage West (Calgary, AB), Globe Theatre (Regina, SK), Persephone Theatre (Saskatoon, SK), Prairie Theatre Exchange (Winnipeg, MB), Theatre Aquarius (Hamilton, ON), Grand Theatre (London, ON), Neptune Theatre (Halifax, NS) and the Confederation Centre (Charlottetown, PE).

In 2008, Sexy Laundry had its US premiere with a run at the Hayworth Theatre (Los Angeles, CA) which starred Frances Fisher as Alice. The play has since been produced throughout the US, including runs at Stages Rep (Houston, TX), Park Square Theater (St. Paul, MN), and multiple runs at WaterTower Theatre (Dallas, TX).

Internationally, it has become a celebrated hit in Poland (where the premiere production continues to run in rep, nearing its 300^th performance since 2012), the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovenia, Germany, Mexico, and Iceland along with productions in development in France, Japan, and other countries. After nearly 10 years, Sexy Laundry continues to play sold out shows across North America and the world.