Fringe Report is now closed. Fringe Report closed on its 10th anniversary, Thursday 12 July 2012. It remains online as a record of 10 exciting years in the arts. Till July 2013, previously unwritten content is being added to the site from the past 10 years, but we are no longer reviewing new material. You can still write to us on the existing email addresses. Good luck with your shows.
The Gaydar Diaries
Verdict: You’ve got male
London - The Pleasance - 19 Sept to 1 Oct 06 - 19:30
The Gaydar Diaries is a revue-style show with a tender underbelly. Sketches that bring to life the world of online, same-sex dating are varied enough to maintain interest and enjoyment from this rather limited topic. The show whizzes through weirdoes, virgins, perverts, ‘Eskimos’ and a lot of brusque ‘show me your cock’s. The all-male cast creates a world of characters, often with slap-dash charm. The enthusiasm they exude during songs and dance routines is contagious. The show’s warmth is perhaps the secret behind its lack of offence, while being abruptly crude.
There are great one-liners and comedy in Gaydar’s world but a colder aspect is also revealed. A man interrupts intercourse when his computer tells him he has mail. A man hides his sexual preference from his wife. A young boy alone in his bedroom is only able to communicate through his lap-top. A constantly recurring theme is men who opt for a photo of a man’s penis rather than a picture of his face. As one love-lorn man exclaims, ‘I am not a profile-I am flesh and bone’. To an outsider, Gaydar’s website seems to be as much about loneliness as it is about union.
There’s much more fun in the show that the site inspires. The Gaydar Diaries is not the perfect sketch show, and isn't a deep investigation into the sexuality of gay men. But it is very, very entertaining.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Tony Higgins. Menno Kuijper. Ben Matthews. Gregory A Smith. Miles Spencer. David Paul West.
Company Credits: Writer - Menno Kuijper. Director - Matt Ian Kelly. Stage Manager / Light & Sound / Production Manager - Andy Beardmore. Company - Naked Angel Theatre Company & City Lights Theatre Company.
END
(c) Sara Pascoe 2006
reviewed Thursday 28 September 06 / The Pleasance, London
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2013
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