REVIEW: SEX, DRUGS AND HAIRY BUM HOLES at The Hen and Chickens Theatre /Camden Fringe 20 – 24 August 2023

‘Scott’s show is funny, refreshingly crude and has a moral at its core’

Toxic relationships have been a popular theme at the Camden Fringe this year. None can have been quite so honest and open about a relationship which is based largely in sexual gratification with not a little crudeness liberally applied.

In this solo show, Danielle Scott, took us on her journey of lurve, showing exactly how a relationship can turn sour.   Our protagonist has a beautiful group of girlfriends and a slightly surly relationship with work. She’s often having fun late into the night, she’s hung over the next day, and then it all starts again. Her main quest, via a dating site, is to find a new boyfriend. When she meets ‘the one’ he quickly seduces her with dinner at Heston Blumenthal’s, a trip to Thailand, all the while increasing his throttle hold on her, without her realising it. Soon, she no longer sees the girlfriends and, well, you know, he turns out to be a nasty piece of work.   

Eventually, she’s completely out of her depth finding herself doing stuff that she doesn’t really want to do, and here the title of the show comes into its own. Scott’s show is funny, refreshingly crude and has a moral at its core, perhaps summed up in the line ‘if you’ve got a good friend hang on to them’ otherwise you’re on your own with your mistakes.

It’s a great way to show how easy it is to form a sexual relationship without actually getting to know the person you’re getting it on with, getting in deeper … whilst friends look on in despair. The play wasn’t perfect, with not much of a sound design (mostly disco tunes) and no lighting to speak of.  It would help if the sound effects always came in at exactly the right place. Scott covered all the peripheral characters including the boyfriend by jumping this way and that which was alright but seemed to show that a larger cast was needed.   To her credit, the characters were very clearly defined, and her quick changes and the use of props added interest. It was, above all, a very brave performance of a tricky subject and one that probably does need airing. 

Sex, Drugs & Hairy Bumholes

White Rabbit Productions / Danielle Scott

Twitter: @ _danielle_scott

Reviewed by Heather Jeffery