Review: Bunburying (The Importance of Being Dr Adam Perchard), Crazy Coqs

Slated as “part literary lecture, part rave, part confessional show”, it’s hard to know what to expect when you sit down for Bunburying. It defies genre, somewhat fittingly for its interrogation of gender and sexuality. Dr Adam Perchard is a one-person powerhouse that will make you laugh, might bring a tear to your eye and will certainly have you walking out with a spring in your step.

Perhaps the best way to describe this show is by comparing it to an academic paper or lecture. It’s structured as such; we have an introduction, scholarly references and a series of literary extracts along with subsequent analysis that, although delivered in a light-hearted manner, might make any literature student in the audience reach for a pen to scribble down notes.

Unlike a lecture, however, Bunburying also features several musical pieces, the first of which is Laura Branigan’s ‘Gloria’. After this opening number, Perchard comments that they sing with expression rather than accuracy. In a show with a prominent theme of falsehoods and hidden truths, this is the first. Not only do they have several operatic credits to their name, but their performance is roof-raising and starts the evening with a bang. While all tonight’s songs are strong, a cover of Bowie’s ‘All You Pretty Things’ is a particularly standout moment.

One-person plays are currently trending, with Andrew Scott’s Vanya and Sarah Snook’s The Picture of Dorian Gray receiving critical acclaim. While making up only a portion of the show, the one-hander scenes from The Importance of Being Earnest that punctuate Perchard’s piece are adeptly staged with the skill of someone who knows their stuff about Wilde and his work.

The source material, of course, is incredibly strong, but Perchard brings character and physical humour to the pieces that make them all the more entertaining. It’s genuinely tense too. As each vignette ends there are gasps from the audience: “I love that you’re all buying these cliffhangers”, Perchard jokes, but it’s a testament to their performance that the audience is so rapt during these extracts.

A key part of The Importance of Being Earnest, and the source of this show’s title, is Algernon’s use of his fictional friend Bunbury to spend more time in the country. Bunbury is perpetually unwell, and requires frequent visits — giving Algernon a perennial excuse to leave the city. This double life motif, also a feature of the titular Ernest/Earnest, has long prompted queer readings of Wilde’s play.

Perchard uses this as a jumping-off point to discuss their own life, sharing anecdotes of growing up queer and feeling they had to make excuses for how they acted — to Bunbury — in order to fit in. Amid the comedy, these are often something of a gut-punch. They’re delivered with aplomb, but it’s impossible to ignore the inherent tragedy of a person having to act as though they’re someone else just to get by. Perchard’s reflections on their life are personal but don’t stray into self-indulgence, making insightful points about queer identities and the hostility of society to those who go against the norm.

The pacing and construction of the performance is extremely effective. Never does a song feel out of place, or a scene shoehorned in. Even moments of audience participation, which can go horribly wrong, are timely and compelling, with Perchard’s ad-lib reactions (”unhand my French Fancy you vixen!”) only adding to the companionable atmosphere and slick production of the piece.

Bunburying is an experience to treasure that highlights Perchard as an adept writer and critic as much as a confident, captivating performer. Their future work is not to be missed.

Bunburying has completed its current run.