★★★★

“The performance is measured and endearing, with great comedic beats”

Wet Feet tells the story of two gay men meeting in a sauna. Nathan (Matthew Edgar), mid-twenties sex worker chats to Franko (Michael Neri), a mid-thirties man with OCD. Over the course of their weekly visits, the pair bond and talk. The play is a series of conversations that touch on a number of topics from Cher to hate crimes, all relatable to an LGBTQ audience. The piece is witty and emotional as the characters explore this unusual relationship, with some steamy flirting throughout. The premise and structure is simple, but earnestly told. The heart of the story beating through Edgar and Neri’s tender performances.

The scenes are intercut with abstract transitions, still images of longing and contemplation separate the visits with cool lighting and accompanying music. The set is a stark clinical space, with a foam mattress on a bed with lino flooring and white walls (Reuben Speed). Some scenes end abruptly whilst others fade away with music as the scenes progress. Directed by Dominic Rouse, the action and movement of the scenes flow organically as the characters grow in familiarity and become more intimate.

Written by Neri, the dialogue is rich with references but also speaks to a generational attitude change between those who lived with section 28 and the AIDS crisis versus the newer generation who grew up with access to Grindr and pornography. The play also challenges assumptions, Nathan did not have it ‘easy’ and Franko struggles to admit he is gay. The piece feels authentic to queer people’s modern conversations whilst also being dramatic and funny. There’s a healthy number of dirty puns to pepper the touching conversations. Whilst some of the issues have been discussed in other plays, the show is a fresh look at these stories and issues that still effect gay people today.

Matthew Edgar’s performance as Nathan is confident and calm, seemingly secure in his sexuality and connected to his identity, with a bit of naivete. Michael Neri’s Franko is a ball of nerves held together by musical theatre and sanitiser wipes. From there we see the depth of these character’s grow; Franko’s ‘germaphobia’ being a clear comparison to the anxiety experienced during the AIDS crisis as well as his feelings of lack of control in his adolescence. Nathan’s more nonchalant attitude hiding deeper feelings of abandonment. The performance is measured and endearing, with great comedic beats. The merging of emotional and physical intimacy is portrayed with care and exactness, with no over exposure and remaining poignant (intimacy by Rose Ryan) if not also causing a few gasps of excitement from the audience (as they should).

For a piece that celebrates and contemplates queerness in 2024, Wet Feet is a charming original piece to see this Pride Month.

A VERY VERY BAD CINDERELLA at The Other Palace

★★★★

“Neil Hurst and Jodie Prenger’s writing is wild and lewd but is equally sharp, and intelligently plays with words”

If you’ve been in the news this year, or are a showbiz personality of any sort, or even merely a major player in a current West End musical, you should be advised to steer clear of “A Very Very Bad Cinderella”. Unless you’re some sort of masochist. None of the above escapes the scattershot onslaught of bawdy jokes and devil-may-care references that are loaded into this most unseasonal of seasonal pantomimes. Thrown out into the audience like sweets, not everyone will catch the in-jokes, and a great many go over our heads.

The musical theatre world is well and truly ransacked. The main casualty that lies in its wake is political correctness. Despite the obligatory use of a snow machine at this time of year, this is not a show for snowflakes. It doesn’t take itself seriously, and the audience are invited (no – make that ‘forced’) to follow suit. To say that this is an ‘alternative’ take on ‘Cinderella’ is a bit of an understatement. Okay, it’s hanging onto the basic plotline for dear life, and the stock characters are there – we have Cinderella, of course, and Buttons and Prince Charming. But gone are the Disney, cutesy names for the ‘Ugly Sisters’; instead, we have Fanny and Vajayjay. You can see where this is going now?

May Tether plays Cinderella, and like the show’s title itself, is channelling a certain other Cinderella who also acquired the prefix ‘bad’. The whole show is a parody, and Tether lampoons with affection and with tongue in cheek. Although the script advocates that tongues are destined for rather more unsavoury parts of the anatomy. Yes, it is that sort of show. That is not a dig, however. Neil Hurst and Jodie Prenger’s writing is wild and lewd but is equally sharp, and intelligently plays with words. We are occasionally reminded of the likes of the Two Ronnies, for example, particularly during a very clever soliloquy in which the titles of every well-known musical are strung together to form a witty and breathless anecdote.

Keanna Bloomfield switches between Buttons and Prince Charming, drawing attention to the writers’ neglect in allowing for costume changes. Budgetary constraints and the producers’ limitations and lack of foresight are also frequently shared with the audience. Maybe spread a little too thin, but the comedy is thickened if you are acquainted with the behind-the-scenes machinations of theatre in all its variety. Genres are crossed with gay abandon as the ‘Ugly Sisters’ lead us headlong into the world of Cabaret and Drag. A captivating duo they are the wicked Queens of the night. Veronica Green’s Fanny is deliciously spicy (I never, ever thought I’d be writing that in a review). Matched by Imelda Warren-Green’s pouting, sourpuss Vajayjay (come on now, concentrate!), the self-declared ‘fab-u-lous’ pair are a comic act that draw the biggest laughs. If the show were to be streamed for general release you wouldn’t catch much of what is said due to the number of censoring beeps required.

There is a narrative thread, just in case we can’t keep up, provided by an uncredited, on-screen presence whose deadpan delivery alludes to the show being ‘very very bad’ indeed. Yes – it is ‘bad’ and ‘wicked’ and ‘sick’. But these are all huge compliments if you’re referring to the urban dictionary. It is a very very fun night out. Prepare to be offended and delighted in equal measure. Oh, and be wary of where you sit, unless the idea of wearing a face mask pulled out from Fanny’s undergarments appeals to you. There – that should get you scrolling for the booking page if nothing else.

Tag Archives: Reuben Speed

WET FEET

★★★★

Union Theatre

WET FEET at the Union Theatre

★★★★

“The performance is measured and endearing, with great comedic beats”

WET FEET at the Union Theatre

Reviewed on 20th June 2024

by Jessica Potts

Photography by Matthew Coulton

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE ESSENCE OF AUDREY | ★★★★ | February 2024

GHOST ON A WIRE | ★★★ | September 2022

WET FEET

WET FEET

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

A Very Very Bad Cinderella

★★★★

The Other Palace

A VERY VERY BAD CINDERELLA at The Other Palace

★★★★

“Neil Hurst and Jodie Prenger’s writing is wild and lewd but is equally sharp, and intelligently plays with words”