(3 / 5)

Sadly, the world seems to be progressing further and further backwards. With most people addicted to being online and seeing an increase in misogyny, the women are becoming more and more at the peril of “Andrew Tate” style opinions.

Two Little Pigs, written and performed in part by Cailtlin McEwan, the story shows the impact of toxic masculinity in an absurdist, Utopian world. When Mark and his long time girlfriend break up over his partial descent into misogyny, he begins to hate all women. In ensuring he is meeting his “protein goals” and, for some companionship, he buys a highly intelligent pig who was raised with farm hands who were hot on feminism, with the goal to feast on her from cells collected and incubated to make “cruelty free” meat. Pig tries to teach him the error of his ways, but lines blur and it becomes all too much.

The concept has an essence of Animal Farm about it. A hyper aware animal who is learning the ways of humans is beginning to infiltrate somewhat and point out what’s wrong with them. But they are still “new” enough to not really understand a lot of things. Cleverly, this allows Mark to rethink and reevaluate things and there’s a mutual learning between the two on life and what has gone wrong.

By using the same performer for both the ex-girlfriend and the pig is an interesting concept. It blurs the lines and triggers these moments of introspective thought for Mark and makes this all uncomfortable. This is a clever approach but at times wasn’t always clear – there’s a difference in physicality to try and determine this strange cross between the pig and the ex but sometimes it took a bit of time to suddenly realise this change.

The production is mainly from Mark’s perspective. The ex disappears quite soon into the show, only being around to ultimately set the scene. And while this is meant to be a learning curve for him as a male, the feminist part of me didn’t want to give him air-time. Maybe this approach and uncomfortable-ness is a clever ploy to teach us something, and maybe the male audience members and , sure, we don’t like him. But I couldn’t get on board with him being the centre of things. I guess it would have had more impact if he maybe learned a lesson by the end but he doesn’t. Again, perhaps this is intentional and we are meant to see that there is likely no redemption in truth but really, I wanted some character arch moment after all we had witnessed.

Two Little Pigs at the root of the concept is really interesting and its attempts to make you feel uncomfortable and question everything is certainly successful. Unfortunately, without a real turn around in the story, it felt slightly flat and wanting.

(3 / 5)

Bi-curious George the drag king, is back again with more theatre based on nature. This time, moving on from an array of animals, George has decided to focus on the humble Snail and I for one came away well informed!

Bi-Curious George: Snail Trail in a comedic drag king act meets reflective piece on transitioning. We firstly expect this to be a full-blown cabaret/drag king act, with the snail as the main focus, as they come on the stage, sllloowwllyy and with a giant snail shell on their back. They interact with us throughout, telling the story of the snail but also themselves, in the most endearing and friendly fashion that we soon feel like close friends. 

George does well to change the tempo and play with our feelings from comedy, to camp cabaret and then personal and very vulnerable moments. We learn intimately about the formation and life of the snail, which I never thought I would be so fascinated by. Thrown in are some exaggerated and humanised elements to bring humour and relatability. But soon there are moments when the shell comes off and they unveil themselves and their journey through transitioning. George is entirely loveable and these moments connect us, whether we can resonate or not. Soon, the comparison to the snail, the “coming out of your shell” phrasing, all makes sense and we soon see why George loves this little creature so much, especially through their personal journey. 

This is a relatively new show and some honing is still needed. Moments which could have been cut down or sharpened slightly but this is all part of theatre and creating art. We already know that with a bit more time, George will have this as sheer perfection like their last show. 

Bi-Curious George: Snail Trail is a raw and honest production, with moments of comedy and one hell of a giant handmade shell.

(4 / 5)

Take all the typical royal stories you hear of succession, throw in a drag king and a whole heap of humour and you have Lil Wenker’s Boyking. 

I was introduced to Lil Wenker last year with their western cowboy turned accountant act and instantly knew I needed to see more of them. This year, they bring the story of 8 year old Prince Wilfred who is 14th in line to the throne and very unhappy about it. What ensues is a catalyst to trudging up his deep and dark evil side, as he embarks on becoming King through any means. 

Boyking is rude and crude from the start. We get multiple characters out of Lil Wenker, from the court jester, to snippets of his father and the odd brother. His mother appears but only as a giant boob, manipulated and grotesque in a Bouffon style appendage that appears from off stage and breast feeds the Prince. The characters are distinctive and prompted with different voices, mannerisms, physicality and associated props which are all very clever to bring the story forward. They’re not deep characters and that works perfectly; enough to give shock but also enough that you’re not emotionally invested. 

Everything is highly elevated and exaggerated. A large crown that allows Lil Wenker to provide some hilarious physicality with audience interaction that could border on too much for anyone else but who for Lil Wenker pulls laugh after laugh from it the more it goes on. There’s also to say that we are all involved throughout; don’t think that you can go without being interacted with or asking for some involvement. And this is always welcomed – it adds to the hilarity and, when audience interaction is unexpected, Lil Wenker is skilled enough that this doesn’t throw them – they go with it and it only adds to the fun. 

There are really dark, black comedy moments however – when Boyking is evil, the grotesque boob, to name just a few and this is a level more than their last show. Without the traditional physical aspect of Bouffon, it still touches on this dark and taboo humour which makes you occasionally gasp-laugh with the shock factor but also, with great intellectual comedy.

Boyking is dark, naughty and ever so funny. Prepare to be hilariously shocked and belly laugh throughout.

(4 / 5)

It’s hard to miss a large giraffe head across the fringe. I heard of Francisco last year and sadly never got the chance to see him. But that yellow and brown pattern has haunted me ever since – haunted me for a missed opportunity. 

What transpires is one hour of complete and enjoyable nonsense. I’m not sure if there was a story per se but little small sketches throughout that seamlessly linked into one another or slightly circled back.. The majority of the narrative is to enable a healthy dose of audience interaction and it works very effectively. So, easy to say, if you’re the shy and retiring type, this is not for you – but nothing to fear, Francisco is nothing but friendly, even if his visible bum cheeks feel slightly daunting at first. 

Francisco has made a very impressive headdress, something from Lion King comes to mind. Made out of cardboard and not entirely accurate or anatomically correct, the small hole for his face allows him to make confident and hilarious eye contact, sound and facial expressions. This all adds to the ridiculous humour and there’s no rhyme or reason to why the giraffe’s interactions are sometimes from his face or the giraffe’s inches above him. We don’t question it as it only adds to the humour and ridiculous nature. 

I’ve alluded to it but moving down, we are often treated with a full view of his bottom. There’s nothing sexual or necessarily crude in this, but only elevates the nonsense more and adds to the overall costume – with slightly mismatched patterned accessories, verging on leopard rather than giraffe. It might seem like something that a starting out act might do in absence of funds but this is actually a very clever approach and weirdly goes together. 

There’s a little bit of Mr Bean about this act. Very little actual speech is uttered, and if it is, it’s almost mime. But we entirely get what he means. Slight, more obvious prompts are made to help the audience along but he fully embodies his act through physicality which is innately funny. His interactions with the audience are abundant but nothing terrifying. There’s some slight crude-ish humour – think sniffing his ever growing quantity of g-strings on a washing line, but mostly it has a tinge of slapstick and a touch of flirtation. 

Francisco de Nata is just pure nonsense of the best kind. It’s one hour of surprising comedy, evoking the naughtier side of Rowan Atkinson and providing humour that trails one after the other in perfect succession.