Fag / Stag: Entertaining and Thought Provoking

The tale of best friends Jimmy and Corgan begins with the arrival of an invitation to the wedding of former flame to both of them, Tamara.

Jimmy’s brief affair with the bride-to-be was, of course, back in high school when Jimmy was in love with her like only a gay man could be before he understood what it was to be gay – while Corgan detests fiancé Jack with the piss-weak hand-shake for giving Tamara all that he couldn’t.

As their respective lives begin to unravel and each sinks deeper into despair, the pair struggle to keep their friendship afloat through a series of drunken nights out and endless games of Donkey Kong.

A night out at Connie’s, an ill-fated day out to the lawn bowls with Corgan’s straight friends; a potentially dangerous Grindr hook-up and endless text messages all culminate in the inevitable wedding of Tamara and Jack.

Entertaining, heart-felt, poignant and through-provoking, the 60 minute inter-locking monologue from Jeffrey Jay Fowler (Jimmy) and Chris Isaacs (Corgan) resonates with the good, bad and sometimes ugly truth of life in contemporary Perth.

Fag/Stag resonates the kinship between friends – regardless of sexuality – while interweaving the stereotypes placed upon both the gay and straight communities and the reactions of one to the other.

It left me pondering the challenges of people approaching 30 – both gay and straight – and whether we would ever truly understand one another.

Fag / Stag is playing as part of Fringe World , tonight’s show is totally sold out but there are tickets available for two performances on Saturday February 7th. 

Arran Morton