I Am Not Myself These Days – Tom Stuart & Fuel

I’m surprised this had just one performance in Brighton. Tom Stuart’s monologue based on Josh Kilmer-Purcell’s frank memoire of life as Aquadisiac, a vodka fuelled drag artist, is more dynamic than any of Alan Bennett’s ‘Talking Heads’ but the domestic asides and bathetic ironies are just as effective. Josh/Aqua narrates his love for a crack-head hooker. It’s clear-sighted “I may be foolish but I’m not stupid” and intense. The fast pace and alcohol fit the New York setting, at Halloween – when it could easily pass as normal. The songs and excellent lighting (by Guy Hoare), complete the necessary high-octane glamour.

Studio Theatre, Brighton Dome, 13 February 2016
Rating:
Andrew Connal