Richard Fry is here a tough guy who is both gay and a terror! But hes such a nice guy you do have to make an effort to see that. He refers to the way that he had to defend himself to survive and thus develop this persona. Almost a brief recall of his famed Bully. His description of prison life and of the relationship he forms there is vivid. His approach to prison life seems very cheery.There is an aspect of this show which seemed to me almost depressing. At one point Richard Fry reels off a list of famous homos from history. He is bent on countering the idea that gays have to be limp-wristed queens or avid disco-bunnies. However I have been watching gay theatre since the seventies. I can recall the ground-breaking productions of Gay Sweatshop (with the late lamented Noel Greig).These may have reached only a small audience and not have been mainstream, but they did put a political gay identity out there.I recall lists of famous gays being delivered from the stage at that time. What is a little depressing is that it is still necessary, it seems, to continue doing this three decades later. The prejudice runs so deep that still we have to unearth and discard it, it would appear. What Fry had to say about homophobia and sport is very true we are still in the early stages of taming that one. This show was very entertaining and the guy next to me hardly stopped guffawing all the way through. Im sure he enjoyed it immensely and also that it was really good for him. Yet I do feel that when Richard Fry has a commanding narrative which structures a show as in Bully and this year in Smiler he is at his best. This show was not lacking in excellent material and brilliant lines, however.
