Death and Dancing, an 80s British stand-up theatre piece about a young gay man and lesbian, is surprisingly relevant to us today. Some bits are dated - so much fuss about the simple action of a man trying on a dress, I ask you! - and some bits are very foreign - how many university students here have had the luck to encounter militant sexual radicalism in their own campus gay groups? Still, the questions raised about yuppie-hood, gay assimilation and the limitations of queer sexual categories are ones seldom bandied about even today, when our gay theatre scene is supposedly all gayed out.
Acting-wise, Rebecca Lee and Benjamin Wong have good chemistry in their roles as Max and Max, usually succeeding in their dramatic/comedic routines about what it's like being gay in university. However, Wong trips up a little on the high-paced, London rhythms of his lines, and can't quite command the stage when he's going solo. Lee, on the other hand, is in her element: strong, crisp and charismatic, she asserts a physical and emotional presence that's often very impressive. I'm ambivalent about the set: it's functional but a wee bit messy. Ultimately, though, I approve thoroughly of the decision to set this show in a bar rather than in a conventional theatre space.