Joe DiPietro’s F*cking Men bursts into life with an erotic flare in the Waterloo East Theatre. 

Starring Alex Britt, Charlie Condou (only scheduled to appear until 21 May), Derek Mitchell and Stanton Plummer-Cambridge F*cking Men originally debuted in London 15 years ago and has come back to the UK with a modern makeover to run with the times.

Set in New York, the play is a dramatic comedy from the get go. The cast members portray 10 of your shall we say ‘stereotypical’ gay personas who are linked by their sexual encounters. There’s a horny dorm student, a hilariously melodramatic writer, a closeted Hollywood star and a middle aged man, all who intersect from different walks of life. 

It’s a first in first out sort of set up based on Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde (which caused something of a stir back in the 1920s). Each scene introduces the next character, to be replaced by the next scene’s, until the characters come full circle.

There’s some serious talent here with each cast member having more than a few theatre titles notched into their bedposts. 

Coronation Street’s Charlie Condou takes on older roles that explore what happens to gays of a certain age. Throwaway lines like ‘We won’t be interested in you for much longer’ and ‘I refuse the identity of queer because I came up as gay’ go a long way in highlighting the generational differences and identity issues in today’s queer community.

Alex Britt (Dumbledore is So Gay) is one to watch as he mesmerises the other characters and the audience as three lusted after, alluring youths. Brooklyn born Plummer-Cambridge (Coming Clean) seems to take on some of the more problematic roles in the play but Derek Mitchell (Ted Lasso) steals the show – just wait and see!

Given its wide range of characters, F*cking Men covers a vast amount of cultural issues both in and out of the gay community in its 90 minute run. 

Life in the LGBTQ+ community has come a long way since the play was first released in 2008. The dating scene has been revolutionised by hookup apps and the invention of PReP has returned sexual freedom to the queer community. With this in mind there’s a few trigger warnings as F*cking Men explores sex work, physical assault, open relationships and lying about your HIV status (cue a red flagged ripple through a predominantly male audience).

It’s not all doom and gloom though, at times F*cking Men is wholesome, funny, intimate and vulnerable as director Steve Kunis leads the audience through the complexities of the characters and their interpersonal relationships. You’ll recognise something of yourself on stage, and you’ll leave the show feeling recognised.

Call it theatre, call it the Arts, call it what you want really, but you’ll definitely call it sexy. Most scenes include a sex scene or two that sees the men rolling around without any undies on, or pressing each other face-first against a wall and ‘drilling like a hammer’. All pretend of course – this isn’t Amsterdam. 

Set in a previously disused railway arch beneath Waterloo East Station, the Waterloo East Theatre is a small space with raised seating to give audiences a good eyeful of the arts. If you are looking for something to do in the coming months then F*cking Men is definitely worth bumping up to the top of your list.

It’s running until the 18th June 2023. Do yourself a favour. Go and see it.