Paul T Davies reviews Willy Hudson's play Bottom now playing at Summerhall at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Photo: Joe Magowan Bottom Summerhall, Edinburgh Fringe
17 August 2018
4 Stars
Willy Hudson's hilarious thought-provoking play goes far beyond a far too obvious joke based on the role gay men are put into regarding sexual activity. Dating via Tinder, Willy is always asked, as probably all gay men are, "Top or bottom?" On his third date with a Tinder contact, Willy has locked himself naked in his own bathroom, while his date sits with the remains of dinner. The problem? Both identify as a bottom, and Willy is panicking because he feels expected to top.
From the start, his interaction with the audience is excellent, he is hugely likeable, and the piece is very honest about his vulnerability. Using the power of Beyonce, singing songs on his ukelele, (reminding me of Phoebe's funny but honest songs in Friends), and the bottom half of a mannequin, he builds up to the moment when he has to admit he can't do it.
Hilarious as this is, I especially liked when he took to the microphone and dismantles the heterosexual normativity that was adopted into gay sex, and this lifts the play above the level of a very fine comedy. Whatever your sexuality, he has much to say, and you won't find much better company for an hour on the Fringe. Highly recommended.
BOOK TICKETS FOR BOTTOM
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
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