Fairyland view of wrinkly sex

H-O-T-B-O-I marks Tim Fountain's return to the hot-bed of cyber-dating

Playwright Tim Fountain stoked a useful blaze of publicity for himself at this year's Edinburgh Festival with Sex Addict.

In that one-man show, or perhaps one man sexually showing off, Fountain revealed more about his performances in the world of gay dating on the net than some sheltered people cared to know.

H-O-T-B-O-I, as the form of the title suggests, marks Fountain's return to the hot-bed of cyber-dating with another gay confessional.


This time there are no serious shocks, despite the plain sexual language. The focus remains soft, even pinkly sentimental and the final, romantic glow comes about from more manipulations of the plot than even the most indefatigable masseur would allow.

H-O-T-B-O-I wallows in wishful makebelief, thanks to its only character Bette Bourne's Reg, a part-time drag queen whose long-term lover has mainly removed sex from the menu.

Thanks, though, to an old friend, Reg discovers that bliss begins at 63, a revelation brought to him from chat-rooms on the net, and a sexy 21-year-old university student who cannot wait to get his hands on him.

Tell that to the marines, you may disbelievingly retort in sight of all this gay coupling and forgetful that a minority of gay men are eager to bed those old enough to be their grandfathers. The student, though does not fit into this category. His relationship with Reg and Reg's reunion with his lover smacks more of fairyland than of real life.

Bette Bourne, master of lugubrious camp and high style, made an indelible impression as Quentin Crisp in Fountain's exhilarating stage biography. Here, whatever comic and poignant impression Bourne makes in his mordant portrayal of wintery gay discontent, he cannot disguise the fact that H-O-T-B-O-I remains wetly unconvincing.

Until 27 November. Information 0870 429 6883.

H-O-T-B-O-I

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