★★★

“ultimately never reaches the heights that it could”

Inceldom — it’s a topic that deserves to be addressed in media more regularly. If we have any hope of dispelling the narrative that is being sold to young men — that most women hate them, only care about money and looks, use sex as a cudgel — we need to be writing about it, with nuance and empathy. Comedian Jamie Sykes’ The Last Incel makes an attempt, and has been lauded after a much-celebrated run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which has now seen it transferred to the Pleasance. But it can’t seem to decide whether it wants to be an absurdist comedy or a thoughtful exploration of this pertinent cultural issue.

The entirety of the play takes place in a Discord call. If you’re unfamiliar, it is rather similar to something like Slack or Microsoft Teams, with a Zoom-like function for video calls — and often used in the gaming community. We are initially introduced to “Ghost” (GoblinsGoblinsGoblins), “Crusher” (Jackson Ryan), and “Einstain” (Jimmy Kavanagh), through a series of grievances that they express about the state of their lives — all through the fault of women and “the system”, of course. Eventually they are joined by the friend that they all seem to tease most heavily, “Cuckboy” (Fiachra Corkery). He’s a bit late to the chat (they’re meant to be celebrating Einstain’s “ascension”, actually his 30th birthday, still a virgin)… and the others soon find out why. As it turns out, he’s done the impossible — he’s slept with a woman. And when the boys find out, well… all hell breaks loose. The premise is a great one, with boundless potential. Which is what makes it so frustrating when the reality falls short.

Margaret (Justine Stafford), the woman that “Cuckboy” has slept with, turns out to be a journalist. After being subjected to a certain amount of abuse from the men in the chat, she suggests writing an article about them. They agree, with the exception of “Crusher”, but this plot line never really bears any fruit. Instead, Margaret ends up suggesting that maybe they just… have sex with women. She even offers to recruit her friends — something she never actually has any intention of doing. She just wants them to imagine the possibilities. Predictably, her fib backfires spectacularly with one particular member of the group. Towards the end of the show, we are also treated to another under-explored side plot regarding the issue of male suicide — one of several missed opportunities here.

It’s all incredibly exasperating. Despite lots of clever bits throughout, The Last Incel ultimately never reaches the heights that it could. If Sykes wants it to be an absurdist comedy about incel culture, then he needs to be leaning further into that — similarly, if he wants to make a well-considered comedy-drama (how this piece was marketed), then something here needs to change. Incel culture isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And it’s too important an issue to treat with contempt — or half-hearted platitudes.

DIAGNOSIS

Finborough Theatre

★★★½

“an original and interesting show led by two excellent performances”

The 16th of May 2035. 3:37am. A woman has been arrested and brought in for questioning regarding an assault on a man in a bar on Villiers Street in central London, but it is very quickly apparent that this is not a normal interview. Firstly, she does not deny the assault. However, what makes the interview more unusual is that the woman is disabled and is consistently referred to as a ‘vulnerable adult’. Diagnosis is an exploration of the treatment and of societal attitudes towards people with disabilities and the bureaucracy, which should protect them actually harming them.

The woman (Athena Stevens) under question remains nameless throughout the show and is even referred to as ‘S/he’ in the show’s programme. Evidently deliberate, this provides one of the key messages of the show – how society ‘others’ people with disabilities and their stories meaning that they are often left unheard, and their talents left unutilised. Here, she has an unusual gift, claiming that she can see people’s ‘sell-by’ dates and what tragedy will befall them. But he won’t listen.

This undertone is reinforced throughout as our officer (Ché Walker) takes light relief in the messages received from a colleague who is detailing watching foxes from his early morning watch post. He also talks very dismissively of her, stating that she is: “Physically impaired, mental capacity undetermined.”

The other key message of the piece is regarding the dangers of overly bureaucratic procedures and processes. The checks and balances that should protect vulnerable people can really just serve to protect the established order. We see this in a specific scenario. Public Oversight Code 22 (PO-22) is a common feature, an article providing a façade of protecting rights in interactions with ‘vulnerable individuals’ when it is really providing cover for inaction and delays. She thinks it means that she will be heard, whereas he knows it means he won’t have to listen. He says to a colleague: “We just need to log the assault before we can let her go.”

The two main actors are also the writer (Stevens) and director (Walker) of the show, quite fitting that they are the ones to bring their work to life. These elements are carefully woven into the plot and dialogue of the characters, with excellent timing. One can enjoy the irony of the officer verbally detailing the reason for the additional procedural features of this interview while simultaneously showing his impatience with them. The scene is cleverly designed (Juliette Demoulin), with the interview both in front of us and projected onto a screen behind. Slate-coloured walls flank the performance, a familiar sight from any crime drama.

At times, the plot asks quite too much of the audience, straying too far into fantasy. This damages the seriousness and importance of the moral of this story, which do get lost when the storyline flirts with science-fiction. The plot needs a bit more substance to get to its punchline without these ‘jumps’, which do seem to interrupt the flow. Nonetheless, it remains an original and interesting show led by two excellent performances.

THE LAST INCEL

Pleasance Theatre

★★★

“ultimately never reaches the heights that it could”

THE LAST INCEL

Pleasance Theatre

Reviewed on 16th May 2025

by Stacey Cullen

Photography by Dean Ben Ayre

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

The Last Incel

The Last Incel

The Last Incel

DIAGNOSIS

Finborough Theatre

★★★½

“an original and interesting show led by two excellent performances”

DIAGNOSIS

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed on 15th May 2025

by Luke Goscomb

Photography by Alex Walton

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

DIAGNOSIS

DIAGNOSIS

DIAGNOSIS

JOIN US