THE LAST INCEL
Pleasance Theatre
★★★
“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.
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 SIMPLE LIFE & DEATH | ★★★★★ | November 2024
16 POSTCARDS | ★★★ | October 2024
GIRLS REALLY LISTEN TO ME | ★★★★ | May 2024
GISELLE: REMIX | ★★★★★ | April 2024
GWYNETH GOES SKIING | ★★★ | February 2024
CASTING THE RUNES | ★★★ | October 2023
DIANA: THE UNTOLD AND UNTRUE STORY | ★★★★ | November 2022
DIRTY CORSET | ★★½ | April 2022
SHE SEEKS OUT WOOL | ★★★★ | January 2022
DOG SHOW | ★★★★★ | December 2021
