EDINBURGH 2018: Review: REALLY WANT TO HURT ME, Assembly

Really Want To Hurt Me is a play about growing up gay in Exeter in the 80's. The boy we see onstage talks us through how he would use his headphones to drown out the school bullies who suspected him of being different to them.

There are several really nice relatable references in this piece. One particularly good one was the art of taping songs off the radio and not including any of the DJ talking.

There are a lot of positive elements to Really Want To Hurt Me. Ryan Price gives a heartfelt performance and captures the vulnerability of this boy who is just trying to survive high school. However, the piece feels both unfinished and too drawn out. While it starts off really well and makes excellent use of music, the play definitely drags in the middle. It touches on suicide but a little too lightly which comes off as slightly flippant.

Overall, Really Want To Hurt Me is a touching look at a young boy coming to terms with his sexuality in a time and place when homosexuality wasn't very visible.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/really-want-to-hurt-me