Paul T Davis reviews Gayboys at Summerhall at Edinburgh Fringe 2022.
Gayboys
Summerhall
Edinburgh Fringe
1 Star
Book Tickets
There were and are many good LGBTQ performances on the Fringe, and they are getting quite a diverse audience. Unfortunately, this was the weakest I saw. Two gay men pose, perform a range of routines and lip sync for the audience’s pleasure. I can see that it’s a movement piece that comments on the emptiness of a lot of gay culture, the shopping, the looks, the stereotyping from the mainstream media. The problem is that the piece ends much as it began, and there is very little development.
A movement piece without text, the lip syncing is quite awful, and they never change their facial expressions, looking as bored with the material as I and my companions were. The movement is repetitive, and the music is much of the bland stuff we get everywhere. Apart from one interesting sequence when the dance to The Fairy-tale of New York by the Pogues. Here was the opportunity for something different, but the “Irish” dancing is limited, and the chance to give us a much more romantic interpretation was missed. They also don’t challenge the word “faggot” in the lyrics, possibly a comment on acceptance of it. It’s a piece that may have benefitted from some actual words.
Perhaps as a comment on fashionistas, the men perform in white “gym kit” and perhaps their trainers are so battered as a comment on obsession with shoes. There’s also a disparity between their abilities, they are not equal in abilities, with many a sideways glance before moving at the same time. It’s a shame as I could see what they were trying to do, but it needs a clearer, firmer and a more adventurous approach to convince.
Aug 18-21, 23-28
