When I saw the synopsis for "Sauna Boy", I knew that this was a show that was either going to be really freaking good or just raunchy with no substance. Given that it won the Oscar Wilde Award for new writing, I took a chance on it, hoping it would be the former.
And it was my lucky day.
Dan Ireland Reeves is captivating in this production that looks into the lives of the employees at a gay sauna. For a play that could just be filled with sex and swearing, we are treated to an endearing story of friendship and comradery.
Ireland Reeves takes us through a story that delves into the topic of toxic work place behaviour and relationships. We slowly but surely see the cracks emerge in what seems like a rag tag group of gay men working in a sauna, watching the fear of the ever-domineering owner who is affectionately (or is it obediently) known as Mother, grow more and more.
That theme of workplace toxicity really strikes a chord with the audience. You could feel the collective knowledge of past experiences in the air. You don't need to have worked in a gay sauna to have had a boss that oversteps their boundaries, to have had to do tasks well beyond your job requirements, to have lost all sense of worth in the job, and to be constantly reminded that you don't deserve the worth you've lost.
I can see this becoming a Netflix mini-series in the next couple of years. It's funny, tender, and charming.
The play is a fantastic time, but it needs a tiny bit of tightening up script-wise. Little things like some character goals being forgotten about in the body of the story only to be mentioned in a rush at the end, almost like an afterthought.
But I really want to stress that these are so miniscule. This show is phenomenal and I hope it enjoys a wonderful run at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall Museum and beyond.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What one-person shows have you enjoyed at the fringe? Let me know in the comments please, and, more importantly, have a fantastic fringe! 😁
Love,
Tony x
No comments:
Post a Comment