Review: DIARY OF A GAY DISASTER, King's Head Theatre

Filled with gay panic and teenage crushes, Rachael Mailer’s new Doc Martin-wearing, U-Hauling, ex-girlfriend-dating new musical is a whole lot of fun. Coming in at under an hour, the show is packed with kick-ass performances, tongue-in-cheek jokes, and candid honesty, giving some much needed representation in musical theatre to queer women.

As the show begins, we are welcomed into best friends' Mia and Finlay’s flat as they are waiting for their new housemate. When cool girl Ellis arrives and starts unpacking, she accidentally reveals her secret diary. What follows is a tipsy evening of embarrassing memories, relatable stories, unresolved tension, and queer friendship.

Given that pretty much the entire company and creative team are making their professional debut, Diary of a Gay Disaster is impressively slick. Tara Noonan’s direction is decidedly one of the strongest elements of the show. She uses every inch of the King’s Head’s small stage space to her advantage, bringing the theatre to life with smart, witty blocking, hilarious moments of audience participation, and a keen sense of fun. This is complemented by Billy Highfield’s lighting design, injecting the musical numbers with vibrancy.

Theatre is always so much nicer to watch when the performers look like they’re enjoying themselves, and all three cast members of Gay Disaster seem to be having a ball. Talya Soames as Mia has so much energy I almost feel exhausted just watching her, in contrast to Liv O’Connor’s more grounded, naturalistic performance as Finlay. Elly Fenton as Ellis falls somewhere between the two, with an effortlessly cool stage presence to boot.

While the individual performances are strong, their energy levels are unmatched, leaving the show feeling a little off-kilter. The overall tone feels somewhat confused and disjointed because of this, especially in the first few scenes.

In many ways, Diary of a Gay Disaster is like watching an hour-long inside joke. This is a show so clearly written by and for queer women, and it’s this that is its best feature. Mailer’s writing shines the most in its cultural references, drawing on every lesbian stereotype in the book with a wry sense of humour and pointing out the truths behind them. Particularly memorable is a song walking us through the struggle of trying to work out if another girl is queer - even things like veganism, mullets, and septum piercings are becoming cool with straight people now, the girls complain. There’s also a fantastic prop reveal that earned its own round of applause - you’ll have to see the show to find out why. In her director’s note, Noonan writes about how one of the key goals of this production was to centre queer joy, and it’s a goal that is definitely achieved.

While most of the show is a high-energy joke-a-minute sprint, there are also moments of tenderness. The most effective of these is when Ellis talks about her ex-boyfriend, and how the relationship just felt somehow wrong. This will feel relatable to much of the lesbian community, with experiences of dating men and comphet often left out of conversations about queerness. Finlay’s discussion of feeling unconfident and predatory when approaching women is also well-written. Some later serious moments, drawing on family relationships and exes, feel a little rushed and shoe-horned in, although this is to be expected in such a short show.

Diary of a Gay Disaster does have some pacing issues - there’s too much time before the first song, and many of the transitions from speaking to singing are jarring. It falls somewhere between a traditional musical and more of a song cycle - there aren’t very many elements of what we would consider plot, and it would perhaps benefit from either fleshing these out into a two-act show or cutting out most of the dialogue.

The songs, rather than serving as storytelling as is typical of musical theatre, act more as fun little stand-alone skits, each exploring a different element of the sapphic experience. Some are more catchy than others, and all share a pop/rock MT style. They do tend to blend together in the memory a little, a sign that the show is perhaps lacking a little light and shade. The few moments of harmony are really lovely, and as such it would have been nice to have more of this. When it comes to tech, the music is often a little too loud to catch all of the lyrics, which is a shame as they contain most of the funniest lines. 

Diary of a Gay Disaster may not be an intricately crafted, depth-filled show, but it is filling a void in our musical theatre scene. Putting the life experiences and shared culture of queer women centre stage is so valuable, allowing audiences to feel seen (and at times exposed!). And besides, any show that gets the whole audience to chant ‘gay rights’ in its closing number is a yes from me.

Diary of a Gay Disaster runs at the King's Head Theatre until 23 July, as part of their 'MT Pride Lab' season

Photo Credit: Earl Echivarre

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