Review: Desperate Wee Gay Boy, Underbelly Cowgate

Cards on the table. This is so not a show I would usually cover. Mainly because, as a middle-aged heterosexual male, well, it’s totally not aimed at me, so if I don’t enjoy it, what right do I have to give it any sort of critical mauling? Thankfully, any concerns it wouldn’t be for me are soon dispelled. It’s as funny as hell, and as crude as they come. Certainly not one for the faint of heart! When Ollie (writer Fraser Kelsey) says he “won’t indulge you with the details” as he recounts another sexual encounter, it’s quite surprising. He has gone into a lot of detail up to that point.

That sexual encounter is one of quite a few he has that evening, but it is his birthday, so shouldn’t he be allowed to go wild? And so what if his best friend, Siobhan (a brilliant supporting performance from Helena Main), is maybe having a rough time when her boyfriend messages her, leaving her looking concerned and upset. It’s not Ollie’s problem, is it? Instead, off he goes into the night, following one hedonistic experience after another; there’s Rory, who was his first real crush at school, “fit bottom” who is even more self-centred than Ollie, and a whole list of others. Yet no experience seems fulfilling; each is tinged with regret, and a feeling that something deeper is missing for Ollie.

Kelsey has written a fantastic character. He is self-centred, so tied up in his own search for pleasure that he is oblivious to the trail of damage left in his wake. As much as we are laughing at the madness of what we are hearing, we all know that Ollie is one of those friends we would never turn to in a crisis. Hell, he wouldn’t be a friend we’d turn to if we wanted to know the time. As Siobhan complains, “You are so obsessed with having a good time you forget the people around you.” He is both extremely likeable and unlikeable in the same breath. 

It’s to Kelsey’s credit as both writer and performer that the plot twist when it comes takes us completely by surprise in the most impressive way possible. It’s not the first time I’ve seen such a stunt pulled in a show, but it’s certainly effective and used to great effect, leaving the audience momentarily confused as to what is really happening.  

The lighting is equally impressive; the neon lights draw us deep into the nightlife he explores, while a simple spotlight calms things down as he takes a seat, perfectly directed to allow a quiet moment amid the craziness. Maybe the sound could be better balanced; early club scenes with their pounding music cause a slight loss of clarity in words (or maybe I’m an old man with bad hearing after years of my own wild times?).

Desperate Wee Gay Boy is just a damn fun show, with its nice, simple message to not be a dick, and to look after your friends. It might be queer theatre, but provided you don’t mind some rather crude descriptions, it really doesn’t matter if you’re straight or gay; it’s a show you’ll find plenty to laugh at within.

Written by Fraser Kelsey
Produced by Iona Bremner Productions and Slainte! Theatre
Directed by Charlotte Anne-Tilley
Lighting Design by Nawel Kobb & Maddie Maycock
Sound Design by Tigerlily Bloggs
Dramaturgy by Charlotte Anne Tiller, Will J Wood & Dan Wye

Desperate Wee Gay Boy plays at Underbelly Cowgate until Sunday 30 August as part of the Edinburgh Fringe