Of Saints and Go Go Boys

Warning: contains Spoilers - If you're going to see this in Belfast on the 16th Nov, you may wish to read this afterwards

Warning: I may use words/descriptions that some of our younger and/or more prudish viewers find distasteful, if that's you go away and read something else.


Perusing the Homotopia brochure I thought "Of Saints and Go Go Boys" sounded interesting, so a quick check if anyone else wanted to go and I was booking tickets for myself and fellow performer Peter Jacobs for last Thursday.  There were only going to be 3 performances - although now I can see why, because you run out of fingers otherwise (more on that later).

Arriving at the Unity Theatre, you were pointed to a poster advising that the show contained Nudity (fine by me), Sexual Content (oh if you must), and Real Blood (what? I don't do blood! what do you mean real blood?).  The guy in the box office said just a little, you'll be fine.  I wasn't convinced!

Anyway up to the bar, met Peter, and then we were handed audience cards, reminding us about the nudity, sex and BLOOD!, and that it was a promenade performance so feel free to walk around and through the set, but don't sit on the furniture or touch any objects (unless told to do so).  They didn't mention not feeding the actors, but as it turns out I wish they had.

We entered the studio space and there followed the usual uncomfortable few minutes that British people have when they haven't been given regimented instructions.  Just stand anywhere, no you don't have to walk around in a single file queue, no we're not forming a healing circle, just fucking move!  Yes there is a naked man lying on the floor, yes you did nearly trip over his legs, no there's no need to giggle.

Anyway, the audience eventually got the hang of their role, and with a change in music, those who'd actually rehearsed their part starting playing theirs.

We were introduced to the three characters, Darling (a very cute Canadian, played by a very cute Canadian), Divine (the Third) and Our Lady of the Flowers (hereinafter called "Fuck Me He's Gorgeous")

Right I'm going to quote from Homotopia now as they are professionals at this sort of thing:

"In an hedonistic world decorated with cheap glamour, three outcasts create their own distorted version of a family as they search for a different kind of Sainthood through glorious self-destruction.... the show recounts the trio's wild and spirited final chapter"

Yep, they did all that, there was plenty of nudity, from FMHG, played by Jordan Lennie; drug taking by Divine, played by Zachariah Fletcher, who was also our shower cubicle narrator throughout the show; all suitably controlled by the cute, if somewhat evil, Canadian Darling, played by the show's creator Joseph Mercier.

The blood came towards the end when a naked FMHG was dripped on by Darling, who having sliced his finger, recounted his father's bull castration technique to a member of the audience, I'd moved around the set out of line of sight for that bit, but what shocked more people came earlier when another patron was called upon to choose whether FMHG got to eat a delicious trifle or a bowl of dog food.  What do you think? Jordan gagged a few times but not as much as the woman standing next to me.

Eventually FMHG (have I mentioned that he was gorgeous?) having been paraded to his fate, was put on a pedestal and we were all given Dollar Bills to attach to his semi-naked body - although British reticence took a few minutes to work out you needed to move to do that.  And with that all three went off to shag backstage.  Well I think officially they went off to die, but I was horny as hell after all that, so shagging fitted into my imagination more easily.

The End

I've ignored huge parts of the show here, but it's definitely one that "you needed to be there" rather than read about, so check PanicLab's website and catch it if you get the opportunity.

To my shame it's the first time I've seen anything by Joseph Mercier, and also the first time I'd been to the Unity.  It won't be the last.  Of Saints and Go Go Boys was challenging and uncomfortable; beautiful and erotic.  And utterly brilliant

p.s. It was Caesar dog food, which is probably more appetising that whatever shite you get in a sausage roll from *****'*