SINGAPORE — When Patricia Toh told a female friend that she was helming a play called The Penis Society and that it was inspired by the numerous sex scandals last year, her friend wasn’t amused.

“She got heated up over the show and about how these sex scandals were demeaning to women. She couldn’t find the humour in it,” Toh recalled.

Her friend might have needed a bit of convincing, but the young actress-turned-director was quite touched after reading the script written by Goh Boon Teck.

“Reading about sex scandals (in the media) is one thing, but to read a play written by a man, talking about men’s issues from a male perspective, I was touched by the vulnerability,” she shared.

The Penis Society, Toy Factory’s latest production, is an honest and humorous examination of the male psyche, aptly staged inside a real bar, Aquanova at Clarke Quay. It stars emerging actors Prem John, Wilson Xin and Muhammad Farid, who all take on multiple roles in a variety of funny sketches alluding to the sex controversies that pervaded government, church, school, high society and the online world last year.

“It’s about straight men and the insecurities, dreams and pressures of being a man. You could say it’s like The Vagina Monologues for men,” she said.

With a title like that, how graphic does it all get? “Yes, there’s talk about length, the different names people call ‘it’, but the graphic-ness goes beyond anatomy,” said Toh.

There’s more to it than the shock factor, she pointed out. “Boon Teck’s writing has the ability to bring out the lyrical poetry in a man’s body. Fine, there are lines that are quite (graphic) but then it moves into poetry and wit again. With him, there’s always this elegance and beauty, followed by this bullet of pure s**t,” she quipped.

Of course, being a female director surrounded by male actors and dealing with a script oozing testosterone had its challenges. Toh was conscious of the difference in perspectives and not imposing a feminine voice too much.

“It’s three men talking and hanging out. Certain things that a woman may approach more sensitively, a man can easily be making jokes about,” she said.

The show hasn’t just been a learning experience about men but also about directing itself. After last year’s critically lauded experimental black box piece, Pretty Things, she’s also in the midst of working on something under The Substation’s Director’s Lab programme — a work-in-progress presentation will be held in November.

But the Toy Factory production is her first shot at helming something she didn’t create. “It’s quite scary but at the same time, the beauty is in learning. For this, I just dropped my ego, surrendered and listened to The Penis Society.” MAYO MARTIN

The Penis Society is from Sept 10 to 29, 8.30pm, Aquanova, Block C, #01-09, Clarke Quay. Tickets at S$26 from Sistic and EventCliQue or S$31 at the door. No shows on Monday and Friday.