Hot Gay Time Machine
Soho Theatre • 9 August - 14 August
Wearing pink socks, a short cheerleaders dress and leopard print sneakers long before Yungblud commandeered this queer couture aesthetic for himself, Toby Marlow and Zac Ghazi-Torbati crash-land their Hot Gay Time Machine back into the West End of London at the ‘Soho(mo) Theatre’. Surprisingly, in the absence of a row A, B or C, my row D ticket had me sat right in the front where, just about able to observe a 2 metre social distance from the performers, I was fair game for any audience interaction. Thankfully mine came in the pre-show madness when, having a microphone thrust under my nose I was asked for my name. “Are there any more Simon’s in tonight?” Marlow called out into the audience. A short pause was followed by the rallying cry “Lets have a round of applause for how unique Simon is!” It appeared I was the only Simon in the audience, but I lifted my hands in the air as an acknowledgement to the applause that followed having been equally hyped-up by Marlow and Ghazi-Torbati’s various pre-show antics, and I was ready to party along with the rest of tonights enthusiastic crowd.
Much has changed in the world since first seeing this show performed at Crazy Coqs in 2018. The UK has left the European Union and we are still living through the tail end of an 18 month global pandemic (or should that be, “global pancetta”?). It’s not all been doom and gloom for Toby Marlow however, who, along with co-creator Lucy Moss, has gone on to enjoy incredible success with the critically acclaimed musical Six, (nominated for 5 Olivier Awards and wining 3 Joseph Jefferson Equity Awards). Unfortunately this was also to fall foul of the pandemic when it’s official Broadway opening night got postponed indefinitely as theatres were instructed to close their doors, and Six became a musical without an audience. Thankfully none of the above success/frustrations led to a decommissioning of the Hot Gay Time Machine and, onstage once again with long time friend Zak Ghazi-Torbati, this wickedly entertaining duo were back with a show that remains as hilarious and entertaining as it has ever been.
Like a queer reimagining of Flight Of The Conchords, much of the evening consists of songs that take us on a journey back through time to relive some key moments from the performers lives. These include early coming out experiences, as recalled in songs like ‘Couldn’t Get It Up’ and 'We Love To Look At Cocks In The Locker Room’. (A catchy little number, but maybe this isn’t the show to take your parents to). More than the Conchords however, Marlow and Ghazi-Torbati are able to provoke a laugh at the end of almost every line of their songs with incredible ease. There’s only one that suffers slightly from the passage of time as, under the guise of two ’straight-lads’, the pair sing a song decrying the fact that gay culture has robbed the heterosexual world of the rainbow and how they aim to claim it back. Whilst still brilliant and eye-wateringly funny, it felt slightly at odds with the times given that the NHS have pretty much already done that by appropriating the rainbow for themselves during the pandemic, (which confusingly gave many straight households a reason to proudly hang their own rainbow flags from the windows of their homes). Maybe the Time Machine had temporarily found itself travelling to pre-COVID times (I’d happily go back there too!), but on the flip side they also managed to create the most joyous, pre-COVID atmosphere I have witnessed in a theatre since they were allowed to reopen, and despite the reminder of having to wear our masks during the performance, this was in no way going to be allowed to spoil the party, with both performers and audience ready for the fantastic night ahead.
Whilst the majority of the show remained unchanged from it’s first outing, it wasn’t without a few current references thrown in for good measure, and like an episode of my favourite comedy I was more than ready to surrender once again to this hilarious, camp, lo-tech, hi energy show, and if it comes around again I’d be more than happy to climb aboard the Hot Gay Time Machine for another glorious ride.
★★★★★