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Reviewers
The Steam Industry present
F**king Men
By Joe DiPeitro
Directed by Phil Wilmott
Kings Head Theatre
7 – 25 January 2009
Now extended!
19 March – 6 June at 10pm
 ary Couzens
A review by Alice MacKenzie for EXTRA! EXTRA!
With F**king Men, play-write Joe DiPeitro updates the controversial 19th Century sexual comedy La Ronde to tell a story of the loves and lusts of contemporary gay American men. Like a kind of “7 steps to Kevin Bacon”, sex links create a chain of nine men: from play-write to porn star, to stockbroker, to distinguished chat-show host and a closeted soldier. The characters are led by their libido and a desire to “connect” (´only connect´. E.M. Forster's words, not mine. God I hate that! Two words and he sums up the whole f**king human condition” Sammy, The Playwright).
F**king Men gives a refreshingly frank and unmoralising look at the joys of casual sex and the negotiations of long-term relationships and monogamy. Another new thing for me and one that felt quite hopeful in a strange way was to see AIDS acknowledged but not focused upon. It was treated as a disease that had to be lived with, but not something that had to dominate the life and identity of the person. But aside from this the characters and the manner of linking their lives together did sometimes feel as though I was watching something that I had seen before in shows such as Queer as Folk, or plays like Angels in America. At times the actors emphasised aspects of the cliches in their characters: such as with the chiseled, closeted actor, or the pretentiously wordy play-write. But despite the slightly stereotypical bases, the characters were allowed to gently surprise us both in their actions and also in the way that Phil Wilmott as director portrayed them. Adam Unze as Ryan was a cliche of sorts as the porn-star who wants to fall in love and settle in to monogamy forever with a man who sees more than his looks and his films. Unze played him with an open sincerity that made his scenes more subtle and lovely than they might otherwise have been.
Stock characters or not, the mostly male audience seemed to feel that F**king Men hit a spot as knowing chuckles and out-right laughter regularly punctuated the show. And it was funny. There was one moment when the successful married couple who are having trouble with their sex life are about to have sex for the first time in ages. Just before they do one of the men claps his hands twice and the lights go out. The audience crack up - it just feels so right that this couple would have one of those sound sensitive light- switches. Cliche's usually tend to have a bit of basis in reality, which makes them all the more striking when you recognise in them the people that you have met or your own dilemmas and joys.
There were a few questions raised by F**king Men about the level of acceptance of gay men, but the play was overall a hopeful and relaxed one as the characters moved between each other looking for a bit of a connection. It was nice to feel on leaving the theatre as though everything was probably going to be OK. Sometimes that can be a bit of a rare but good experience in theatre. One thing though, if you are a particularly defensive bisexual, you may be a bit offended...
Box Office: 0844 412 2953 or info@kingsheadtheatre.org
Tickets: 7 – 25 January 2009, no performance on Mondays
£20 premium reserved, £15 general unreserved, £12.50 concessions
Theatre: The Kings Head Theatre, 115 Upper St, London, N1
New Dates: 19 March - 6 June - 10pm
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