Review: F**KING MEN, Waterloo East Theatre

Despite having an unproduceable title, Tony-winning playwright Joe DiPietro's (Memphis, What's New Pussycat) F**king Men has seen many productions since its 2008 premiere and now comes in an updated version to the Waterloo East Theatre.

Based on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, F**king Men follows the modern gay scene through ten male characters: An escort. A soldier. A tutor. A student. A husband. A banker. A porn star. A playwright. An actor. A journalist. As each man moves from one lover to the next, each story reveals connections that are closer than they appear.

With no overarching plot, the string that connects each man in this smooth 90-minute play is sex (and a lot of it in this production). Never feeling gratuitous, director Steven Kunis and intimacy co-ordinator Lee Crowley treat each erotic situation with care, capturing the awkwardness, freedom and connection the characters feel pre, during and post-coitus. Whether it's in a sauna, hotel suite or student dorm, DiPietro's script uses sex to express each character's definition of connection, helped by Alex Lewer's eclectic lighting and Cara Evan's set with opaque panels.

While so much has changed in the last fifteen years, Joe DiPietro's script remains biting, hilarious and thought-provoking with seamless updates to reflect current times including references OnlyFans and PreP.

Finding the right balance between hilarious and heartbreaking, DiPietro isn't afraid to address the darker themes bubbling underneath each comedic situation; The generational conflict of "have as much sex as possible" versus finding monogamy with a partner. The rampant biphobia in a supposedly more sexually fluid world. The potential career suicide of an actor coming out in a post-#MeToo landscape that forces them to stay in the closet. As Charlie Condou states at the start, "We have come a long way, but we still need to fight."

All four actors are given their moment to flex their comedic and dramatic chops. Charlie Condou (Coronation Street), captures the conflicted feelings of an older gay man living the fantasy of sleeping with a college student to keep up with his partner and later as a closeted journalist in a marriage of convenience. Alex Britt brings youthful naivety and hedonism as starting and bookending the show as the escort. Stanton Plummer-Cambridge is profound as a soldier fighting his internalised homophobia and later blockbuster movie star wanting to come out. However, I must give praise to Derek Mitchell as a self-aggrandising playwright in one metatextual moment that left the audience in fits of laughter.

You may think you're in for a fun romp with a title like F**king Men, but there's much more happening under the surface. A funny and thought-provoking script masterfully updated by DiPietro; it explores sex, love and intimacy in a way anybody can relate to, with a four-piece ensemble who bring dimension and profundity to each character outside of their designated stereotypes. This should be the definitive version of F**king Men.

F**king Men is at Waterloo East Theatre until 18 June

Photo Credit: Darren Bell

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