Indy Nile (where Cleopatra lives): transgender DILF clown scooters (literally) into the Soho theatre upstairs space (avoiding the many stairs) for one night of introspective drag, stand up and Busted fanboying.Summary
Rating
Good
It is commonly said that writers only write about themselves. Logically, for theatre makers, this rule goes double. One-person shows can easily and sometimes midway flip between poignantly extolling the universality of human experience and a giant self-congratulatory…handshake. Gabriel Harris’s Brighton fringe-nominated show is somewhere in between.
There is a lot of talent and thought here for sure; welcoming us to Indy’s gender reveal party and speaking candidly and creatively about undergoing a second puberty, giving us the audience all the intimate details of being transgender that you would be too polite to ask at a party. There are PowerPoint presentations, poetry, plastic penises and a clear understanding of comedy. Audience participation throughout is spirited and spirit-led as this evening in the rafters could be sponsored by vodka tonics. Whispering “semi-skimmed milk” at the top of our voices to punctuate a piece of Harris’s pre-transition lesbian love poetry, hilarious! Riotous whooping of the audience descending into painful mummers of recognition and understanding morphs the event into a sort of group therapy with more smut and giggles.
However reliance on the 2004 film The Thunderbirds (don’t ask how, I don’t have the word limit) and the corresponding Southend-on-Sea pop-punk band Busted (remember them?) age and limit the show. To understand a good chunk of the comedy you have to be over 25 at least, and aware of a band that never really made it out of the UK. Many more jokes although technically effective on paper fail to land the delivery. At points the dreaded question of any solo show floats up in our minds “Why should we care?” if only fleetingly.
Avoiding the looming political question, the themes of trans joy, progression and worth is explored with energy and vim. At its height we have a personal journey that will moisten anyone’s eye that has felt outside and othered and a learning experience for those that haven’t, and that’s “What I Go to School For” (it’s a Busted song, in case you missed it)
Written, directed and produced by: Gabriel Harris
He/He/He played for one night only at Soho Theatre
