BRIGHTON FRINGE REVIEW: ‘Second Class Queer’

A speed dating evening in a gay bar in Berlin is the unlikely setting for Kumar Muniandy’s searingly honest examination of queer identity, racism, homophobia, displacement and guilt.

Krishna is a Malaysian of Indian heritage, and he is outwardly calm, witty and attractive. But underneath he has a guilty secret he must share and deal with.

Kumar begins the drama with a traditional dance that might have come from Bollywood – graceful, and mesmerising. But the serenity is broken by the depiction of a vicious attack – a real-life murder of a young boy, thought wrongly to be gay – we are informed by a slide projection. It’s a shuddering device.

Most of the rest of this intimate and gripping piece is made up of a series of encounters at the speed dating session, with the other men heard on precisely timed recorded dialogues.

Here we meet some truly dreadful gay characters – exhibiting racism, religious delusion, and even homophobia.

But one of them – a black male nurse Francis – gives sensible if difficult advice about how to live with yourself. It’s at this point we find out the cause of Krishna’s guilt –  an action by him that he believes led to his mother’s unnecessary death.

In the end, Krishna finds a way forward by saying who he really is.

Kumar is utterly believable and he brilliantly times the conversations, which is no mean feat. He gives us humanity, honesty and understanding. It’s a terrific performance.

You can catch it at Ironworks Studios today, 12 May. Please go.

Tickets HERE