.jpg)
Up4AMeet?
The Courtyard Theatre
Reviewed on Thursday 11th July 2013
I never thought there would be a point where seeing naked men would become tedious, but unfortunately that day came with the revived tour production of Jeff Moody's Up4AMeet. Playing at The Courtyard Theatre, advertised as 'naked comedy', this production is only half right. The story, of which there is very little, follows a collection of gay men and their fag hag who all live within the same block of apartments.
Grant (Chris Wills) is a young gay man who feels like he doesn’t belong, Carlos (Benidict Garrett) is his nudist Spanish flat mate who's presence on stage we shall get to later and Caroline (Penny Tasker) his celebrity agent friend who's biggest client was Jimmy Saville and now manages a selection of Z list celebrities, one of whom is played by Nikki Grahame (that's right, Big Brother's Nikki Graham, the irony is noted). Alongside this colourful array of characters is Julian (Michael Blore), an ageing ‘queen who in his desperation to get back in the dating game invites a beautiful young man he met online (Lloyd Daniels of X Factor 'fame') to move in to his spare room in hope of a budding romance, or at least in quick roll in the proverbial hay.
The main thrust of Jeff Moody’s sexual farce is based around online networking and more specifically the gay dating scene, making nods to instantaneous sex mongers, Grindr and Gaydar (coincidently one of their sponsors). The most awkward moment comes when the play takes a moral turn and tries to crow bar in socio-political messages about being a modern gay man, which just don’t seem to fit with the rest of the play. Despite being very important and meaningful points, are just lost in the camp façade.
You cannot talk about this play without talking about Garrett and his predominant... energy whilst spending the whole play naked. The problem with nudity, especially in a small space, is that once introduced, it has a short life span and soon goes from funny to distracting and very quickly to irrelevant.
Despite the poor script and amateurish direction I can’t help but appreciate the wonderful irony of casting Daniels and Graham, who are equally abysmal in their acting ability, in this show. If you are fans of Big Brother you will most definitely get the regular nods to the Graham you know and love including the much-awaited inevitable catch phrase and for anyone who likes Daniels, you will see more than your fair share of him.
The two shining beacons are perhaps Wills and Tasker who despite the cringe worthy dialogue manage to find a sense of humanity, and a wonderfully appealing body aside, Wills has a natural charm and I would be keen to see him in other roles.
Unfortunately the subject matter is old news. Online dating has been around for over a decade and the concept of meeting people online just for ‘fun’ is kind of a given. Despite some attempts to make the script self knowing and embrace the ‘wooden’ acting and ‘dodgy’ script, the play is simply not clever enough to pull this trick off.
Despite everything, this production does have an audience, and if you are part of a very drunk hen party or on big gay night out you will no doubt get a few cheap thrills and even cheaper laughs. Even if you just fancy a sneaky peak and some fine (and not so fine) specimens of the male form, then you will not be disappointed, but if you are after anything remotely resembling good old fashioned ‘theatre’ then stay away, this one may not be for you.
Reviewed by Dan Phillips
contact@westendframe.com
Click here to book tickets.
Click here to read our interview with Lloyd Daniels.
Visit www.up4ameetontour.com for further information and tour dates.
No comments:
Post a Comment