In a wonderfully intimate theatre space which is literally underground, we meet Guy – a self-confessed obese young man who spends his life as a graphic designer, gamer and binge eater.
PROBLEM IS: Guy, played with wonderful angst by Brendan Matthew, wants to be thin and get a boyfriend.
This Grindr-age musical by the emerging talents of Leoe Mercer and Stephen Hyde, is about unrequited love, deceit, betrayal, friendships made and lost, but ultimately about the resilience of the human spirit.
With fast-paced pop and rap songs it races through its 90 minutes, carrying us along its many twists and turns, The interaction between Guy and the three other actors who play a variety of characters is truly electric.
When Guy joins a local Manchester gym he finds love among the self-absorbed customers without recognising the fact and the rest of the show turns around his many moods but also his growing self-awareness. The irony is the unconscious damage he does to those around him.
His biggest sin is not his obesity but his refusal to accept he is who he is. By ‘cat fishing’ – using his best friend’s photo on his Grindr profile, he makes a tragic error that it takes all the show to resolve.
As his gay gym buddy colleagues, the super-fit actor/singer/dancers Sean Miley-Moore, Adam Braidley and Steve Banks, create truly likeable, and realistically flawed characters each with very different and often challenging personalities.
Miley-Moore, an X Factor finalist, shines as the Asian obstetrician Arizona, who is also secretly desperate for love. The storyline shows us that all four characters are actually equally unhappy with their body shapes – Guy for obvious reasons – but the others also realise they are obsessed with being fit and toned to the point of damaging their health for their perfect Grindr profile.
This Manchester-based theatre group Leoe and Hyde has a great future ahead of it.
There are one or two inconsistencies in the plot line between Guy and best friend Tyler but these just need a bit of cutting and pasting.
Brendan Matthew puts in a five-star performance and his singing voice is a delight to hear despite all his sorrowfulness – and when he finds love in an unexpected place we are happy for him.
The two writers say they want to develop gay themes related to the world of the internet. Though this may seem a narrow field to develop Leoe and Hyde have a very bright musical theatre future ahead of them.
Guy runs at the Bunker Theatre, Southwark Sty, London on various dates until July 7, then tours to Buxton, Birmingham and Manchester.
For more info @guythemusical
Reviewed by Brian Butler
You must be logged in to post a comment.