This show is everything that theatre should be; avoiding all the stylistic cliches that permeate the vast majority of verbatim work, this brand-new production of 5 Guys Chillin’, directed and written by Peter Darney for their Edinburgh run, is the epitome of theatre activism. A true conversation opener, the audience was hugely varied in all aspects of diversity. Rather than preaching to the converted or condoning the complexities of addiction, the play serves to present all sides of the argument, provoking and engendering discussion around social change, oppression and drug abuse.
A piece that has been quietly building momentum over the last two years, this new production demonstrates the potential of art as activism and the breathtaking results of relevant realist drama. Following the story of five men attending a London ’chill out’, a term used to describe a social gathering of gay men fuelled by a cocktail of drugs and sex. Addressing the stigmas and issues associated with the chem-sex scene, the play navigates the borders between addiction and pleasure; the erotic and the dangerous; liberation and intimacy.
With the gritty realism of Danny Boyle, the production design fully exposes the ugly mechanics of the chem-sex scene, stoutly refusing to look away from it’s effects on those who participate, yet neither condemning nor condoning their actions. The set is minimal but naturalistic, with a host of associated paraphernalia scattered across the floor. This dedication to naturalistic detail, set against the beautifully acted monologic script, brings a textured realism to the production that proves an engaging combination of form and content. Woven together from a series of interviews, the script ricochets between comedy and drama, addressing the ecstasy and entropy of addiction with a quick-fire patter that hurtles through a cacophony of experience.
The visceral animalism of the physical performances, particularly in the more abstract movement sequences, engenders a sense of both eroticism and squalidity, leaving the audience sitting not in judgement of the characters, but in intoxication with them. Due to the strength of this connection between audience and actor, the piece would benefit form a smaller, more intimate, venue to take full advantage of the tactility of the performance.
Overall, this piece is an absolute must-see, and I highly recommend attending the post-show discussion for further insight. A brave and searing production, it’s content is certainly not for the faint of heart, but the relevance and accessibility of the narrative provides a vital insight into the metastatic world of Chem-Sex.
Reviewed by Tasmine Airey
Image is courtesy of the King’s Head Theatre
5 GUYS CHILLIN’
is at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe until 27th August
“A hard hitting show with graphic content expertly performed by 5 excellent actors”
A visit to the theatre for a lot of people is to be entertained and to leave the venue with a smile. 5 Guys Chillin’ is a hard hitting, thought-provoking piece of theatre. It informs, shocks and educates but leaves the viewer rather shell shocked and certainly devoid of smiles.
Written by Peter Darney, 5 Guys Chillin’, was originally staged at the Brighton Fringe Festival and now returns to the King’s Head Theatre Islington following a stint there in 2015. It has also been in Edinburgh, Dublin and New York.
The play discusses in detail gay sex and in particular the recent move to Chemsex, something this reviewer was blissfully ignorant of before seeing the show. It seems there is a slang which many people may have no idea of; Talk of tops, bottoms, Grindr, G, saunas, and chill-outs is like listening to another language. However I now have an understanding of what a chill party, slamming and Tina are though I somehow doubt Darney’s sole intention was to educate the uninitiated.
On entering the theatre patrons are given a condom and the programme has a fascinating piece written by David Stuart from 56 Dean Street explaining the past and present sexualised drug use by gay men. It explores, as does the play, the change of attitude towards HIV once feared and now almost accepted as part of life for some. It isn’t the death sentence it was in the 80’s. PrEP, a new drug that can prevent HIV transmission without the use of condoms, could one day be widely available to those who are at high risk of coming into contact with the virus.
It would seem that 5 Guys Chillin’ is targeted at a certain audience that may even be titillated by the sexual content of this show, though as a few people that left mid performance it seems that this isn’t a show for everyone. Sex plays a big part in the production, some of the descriptions of experiences the actors have had are likely to be offensive to some.
There is some nudity and graphic portrayal of sex acts. The production begins with the five guys meeting with the intention of taking drugs and having sex with each other. We then learn of their various experiences on the gay scene and chill-out parties such as this one. The set, lighting and sound enhance the experience of the event we are witnessing from a close up and almost voyeuristic position.
The seating is on three sides meaning you are never far away from the action. As the event progresses there is a move to harder injected drugs and the characters show their deeper fragilities that perhaps the drug and sex scene seems to numb for them. The five guys are very convincing in acting out the words of verbatim interviews collected by Darney. There does seem to be a feeling of them telling stories that progressively up the shock level, though each act out the vulnerability of the character expertly.
What the play does successfully is to look at the stories behind the glory of gay sex and in particular the more recent move to hook up with complete strangers for sex via sites like Grindr. The play points out Chemsex puts users at greater risk of overdosing, convulsions, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections as well as mental health problems and becoming the victim of sexual assault.
The show finishes with all actors locked in time as the audience files out in quiet contemplation. It is without doubt a well researched and written a show that will appeal to many but the explicit content has the ability to offend some unaware of its graphic content. It does above all educate to the dangers of entering into that world.
5 Guys Chillin’ runs for 75 minutes and is playing at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington until 3rd June.
