Any masochist worth their salt will, at some point in their life, have had the misfortune of watching an episode of Sex and the City. It’s awful, bloody awful in fact, but underneath the superficial facade there is a genuine issue being ruminated over; Why are men and women so different? Obviously, there are other, more vacuous things happening, but most of the time is spent harping on about how impossible it is finding a decent guy in New York. Tonight, I saw a show which attempted to deal with this same issue.
Any masochist worth their salt will, at some point in their life, have had the misfortune of watching an episode of Sex And The City. It’s awful, bloody awful in fact, but underneath the superficial facade there is a genuine issue being ruminated over; Why are men and women so different? Obviously, there are other, more vacuous things happening, but most of the time is spent harping on about how impossible it is finding a decent guy in New York. Tonight, I saw a show which attempted to deal with this same issue.
As our performers take to the stage, we are introduced to Kim Hope, and Xavier Toby who will be taking to the stand and defending their respective sex. The layout is simple. An issue is raised, and we hear from both defendants. We broach issues from how to attract a partner, what to do on a first date, all the way on to how to end a relationship.
Now, I have to admit that as soon as the show started my original fears were confirmed. The whole layout of the show lends itself to slipping into lazy stereotypes, in fact, when Kim and Xavier make the stage, it feels like Kim has brought a caveman with her, rather than a fellow performer. Everything that leaves poor Xavier’s mouth seems to be an excerpt of a British comedy from the 1970s, and there are only so many times I can deal with hearing how incredible he is. From the crowd reaction, it seems that his total lack of humility is one of the highlights of the show. Kim Hope is an excellent performer, and it is impossible to take your eyes off her during the show, as she controls proceedings so dominantly.
The interaction between the performers is laid out in a way that is supposed to feel informal, as though it might have been carried out in a bar, or over a meal, but it is yawningly obvious that they are sticking to a script, especially when a clearly nervous Xavier keeps tripping over his words. This show is not terrible, not by any means, it’s just a bit misguided. There are lots of laughs, and the performances are believable, I just thought we were past all this.
