A One-Woman show that asks, Is there still Sex in the City?!
In her new one-woman show, New York City literary icon Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and The City and the authentic Carrie Bradshaw, shares bold, intimate and triumphant stories celebrating feminism and power. This single-star act only further solidifies Bushnell’s place as the OG sex influencer of our time.
Already known as a renowned and respected artist in her field, what are audiences to make of this single Manolo wearing, cosmo-sipping, blonde powerhouse, sharing raw and brutally honest memoirs of love, sex and the gnawing question, Is there still Sex in The City?
The enchanting lone-star state, known as the one-woman show, is Candace Bushnell’s latest accomplishment. For the first time, the best-selling international author is venturing off in front of the stage, showcasing a different art form than we are used to seeing. No stranger to telling it like it is, Candace has always captivated an audience with her eclectic work stock and literary prowess.
The impulse to tell a story was always there for the Connecticut-born author who moved to New York to pursue acting. Quickly realising the sexism and masochism that existed then, Candace was uninterested in playing the shady game to get ahead. Taking matters into her own hands, Candace decided she would shift her focus to working for magazines. She was a freelance journalist for years and even sold a children’s book to Simon & Schuster. Although never published, history was in the making.
We are first introduced to Candace’s witty charm and skilful literateness when she curated an alluring column based on her life and her friends living in New York called Sex and the City for the New York Observer. The column was soon published as an anthology, followed by an infamous tv cable series for HBO and two box-office hit movies.
In an exclusive interview for British Thoughts, the visionary opens up about what it means to be creative and why women should take a stance:
Jewelry: Featherstone Design @featherstonedesign | R: Light Blue Silk Brocade Suit and Shoes: Ron Dyce @officialrondyce Jewelry: Featherstone Design @featherstonedesign
BRITISH THOUGHTS: Do you consider this moment as reinventing yourself?
CB: No, I would not say I’m reinventing myself. You don’t want to reinvent yourself when you get to be my age. I’m going to be 64. You’ve spent the last 60 years figuring out who you are. When you get older, there are just other things you want to explore.
People kind of find themselves as they journey through life. Everyone is given certain cards in life. It’s really about how you use them.
BRITISH THOUGHTS: There is enough press about Candace, the literary icon, the screenwriter, the author, the genius behind Sex and The City and other accolades. What would you like the world to know about Candace, the person?
CB: I’ve always been a super creative person. Now that I’m older, I feel more confident and established enough to go for the other things I’ve always wanted to try. I’m always going to be writing a book. Hopefully, I’ll be working on another TV series. I’m always doing something creative. The most exciting and super fun for me now is doing photoshoots. Recently, I’ve been doing it more, and you get to be like an actress in front of the camera. When I was younger, I hated doing hair and makeup and posing with my legs here and there. I used to think photoshoots were so annoying. Now I find it really fun and a way to be creative. I’m 64. It feels like a weird age to do this in your head, but I’m having so much fun with it.
BRITISH THOUGHTS: Do you ever feel like you missed an opportunity not being the lead actress for your own series?
CB: I think I should have. When I first came to New York, I took acting classes. I went to auditions. But it was so sexist at that time. I felt like I couldn’t do this. The casting couch-ness of it, people didn’t talk about back then, but it was so obvious. It was made very, very clear. So I thought to myself, I’m going to work for women’s magazines, where you don’t have to deal with some guy who says, “I” ll give you a raise if you have sex with me.” Which happened a lot back then. That was something that really put me off. When I was a little bit older, I did have a TV show, one of the first reality shows. Called, Sex, Lives & Video clips. We went to all these different places and explored some aspects of sex. Hung out with a Dominatrix. Went to Colorado and hung out with people who had more than one partner, swingers. It was really fun, but I didn’t think it was such a good thing to do. In that way, I wish I had pursued it.
Jewelry: Featherstone Design @featherstonedesign | R: Blue Flower Mini Dress: Videmus Omnia @videmusomnia Jewelry: Featherstone Design @featherstonedesign
BRITISH THOUGHTS: Can fans expect a new book coming soon?
CB: Yes. I have two book contracts but no confirmed dates as of yet. The reality is not everything works out. In 2019 I had a book come out, Is There Still Sex in The City? I wrote a script for the book in 2020, but the pandemic came. Then I wrote my one-woman show in 2021. Now I wrote another script. There are various reasons why stuff doesn’t work out, timing or a pandemic, for instance.
BRITISH THOUGHTS: Which process do you enjoy the most, writing a series or writing a book?
CB: They are two really different things, and most people can’t do both. Writing a script is easier because it’s shorter. A book, for instance, is 80,000 words with hundreds of pages. It takes a long time to complete a book. However, scripts are tricker even though they may be easier to construct. In a way, they require more details
BRITISH THOUGHTS: Do you have a ritual you like to do prior to writing?
CB: Yes, you have a routine that you do. That’s what I do. For me, you don’t want to be doing a lot of socializing. It takes a lot of concentration. If you’re not writing, you’re problem-solving. You’ve got a whole book in your head. At all times you’re juggling thoughts of having to change this sentence on page 4 and then also a sentence on page 398! It’s a lot.
BRITISH THOUGHTS: Do you prefer to be out of, the city when writing?
CB: It depends. The city is a great place for inspiration. You see things, get great ideas and learn something new. My home in Sag Harbor is a better place to write.
BRITISH THOUGHTS: How do you develop your plots? Are all your characters from real-life interactions?
CB: A lot of problem-solving. For me, its the types of people who are interesting, and then putting together all the pieces of a character to make a person.
BRITISH THOUGHTS: Did you ever consider writing under a pen name?
CB: Yes, and I did for a while. My name was Striped Savage. I used that as a name for the first piece I published in 1978. I wanted to have this pen name because you wouldn’t know if it was a man or a woman. I had this whole idea behind it. It was published in a publication called Night Magazine about How to Act in a Disco, which I talk about in the one-woman show.
