Previously seen in the U.K. at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe, where it ran at Sweet Teviot Place, the piece began its life as therapy for recovering heart attack patients.
According to press materials, what the patients wanted to know was how soon could they start to have sex again? From there it was a small step to "How often should I do it?" and on to "How should I do it?" Then someone suggested that "healthy" people might like to hear Ludwig's views on sex, too. Thirty-four friends and relatives attended the first public performance in a tiny theatre. In just a few years the show evolved, with the presentation baton being handed to Wolfgang Weinberger, and the show selling out the 2,500-seat Vienna Concert Hall.
Weinberger – described in press materials as "an unlikely sex expert" — graduated from the Vienna School of Economics then got his MA in Filmmaking at the University of Southern California. He started a comedy troupe, called The Killer Tomatoes, which toured Austria and Germany and was awarded the Salzburger Stier, the most prestigious comedy award in the German-speaking countries. He directed hundreds of TV commercials and a number of TV shows. His theatre credits include the German version of the Off-Broadway hit Tony and Tina's Wedding, which he adapted and directed.
Is A Guide to Sexual Misery a lecture, a comedy show or sex therapy? According to Weinberger, "The answer is a bit of all three. Some people come for the laughs, some because they think their partners will benefit and some just want to hear about other people's sex life. But almost all rush off after the show with a few burning new ideas to attend to ASAP. This show will divide you but in the end it'll reunite you!"
To book tickets contact the box office at 0844 847 2475 or visit www.leicestersquaretheatre.com. For more information on the show, visit www.sexualmisery.com.