Playing Lysistrata was "the best make-believe" she'd ever done as an adult, Billing told the Herald on Sunday.
"We're really grounded into our female energy. It's lots of fun. Being a girl, being a priestess, spiritual being. Summoning Aphrodite, that's something every woman should do on a daily basis."
Lysistrata might be fiction, but Billing had heard of people withholding sex in a bid to force change.
"The implicit thing is sending a man to sleep on a couch. I've come across that, or male friends who've been made to sleep on the couch. In the world of the play, what [Lysistrata] is doing works."
But in real life? Not so much.
"I think it's cutting your nose off to spite your face. You both lose, don't you?" she said.
"I can understand being so angry that you don't feel like it but using sex as a kind of bargaining tool is very tricky territory. I'm trying not to be judgmental. If I found myself doing that I would have to ask some serious questions. I think the fact people do [withhold sex] means it's a relatable situation."
Billing expected the audience would be seduced by the drama and the comedy before "bam, 'woah, you're asking me to think about something'?"
"Everybody watching it will interpret it from where they are in their lives and whether they're male, female, been in the army, pacifist, had kids, haven't, single, in a relationship."
Ward-Lealand, who is married to Hurst, said the play had fantastic music and choreography and "kickass costumes". The set was dramatic as the stage was in traverse, meaning audiences flanked both sides.
Billing has also teamed with Hurst on several projects - including his 2013 production of Chicago.
• Lysistrata runs from July 30-August 23 at Auckland's Q Theatre. Tickets atc.co.nz.
