Happily Ever Poofter
Above The Stag Theatre, 1st July - 2nd July 2019
It wasn’t long into Jack The Lad's history that we decided ‘queer’ was going to be our adopted noun to describe the publication and it’s most likely audience, having joined in with many from the LGBTQ+ community in the reclamation of the word as a more positive descriptive term than the insult of old. It has by no means been universally accepted as such however, and for some it still stirs up more negative emotions, triggering memories of the years it was used against the community as a term of derision and stigmatisation. Their feelings came sharply into focus this week when a trip to the Above The Stag Theatre reminded me that there is surprisingly still a word that has the ability to trigger me for all the same reasons. That word is ‘poof’, which made going to see Richard Watkins new one man show Happily Ever Poofter an interesting proposition well in advance of arriving at the theatre.
As the title suggests, this is the ‘hottest, campest musical parody in town’, and it quite rightly ran roughshod over my more delicate sensibilities from the very outset, wearing it’s heart very much on its fairytale Prince’s ’puffed’ sleeves. This hilarious comedy not only goes quite some way in reclaiming the word, it also seeks to single-handedly redress the balance of the distinct lack of gay representation in Disney's classic fairytales. That being said, this isn’t Jack The Lads first encounter with a gay Prince called Henry, it also being the titular character in LGBT Children’s author Olly Pike’s own gay fairy tale. This Prince Henry is very much a 'strictly for adults' affair however as, being the only gay in the kingdom he summons his fairy godfather and heads off to London’s gay scene in the hope of finding his one true love, discovering instead a London where the scene consists of ‘cum, chems and consent’, all of which adds to a very unique adaptation to the Sleeping Beauty song ‘High-Ho’.
Watkins cut’s a dashing figure as the Prince, and it’s no surprise to discover he has previously starred in a number of Christmas pantomimes as this production comes heavily infused with many of it’s traditions, even if it was being performed on one of the hottest weeks of the year. Despite that, Watkins had us all onside almost immediately. He more than impressed with his masterful audience interactions, and his ability to get even the most reluctant of us taking part in the occasional audience participation was skilfully done. Never going quite as far as to have an ‘It’s behind you!” moment, Watkins is deliciously more meta with his frivolous fairytale fun, a layered approach that meant this production is never less than entertaining throughout. Deftly directed by Jack The Lad’s previously featured Denholm Spurr, (see issue 8) the creative use of lighting compensated well for the sparseness of the set in this preview for what will no doubt take Edinburgh by storm when it sets off for the Fringe festival later this year. The relentless energy of Watkins performance seals the deal in this hilarious out-of-season panto that completely won me over with its darker, high octane heart.
★★★★