Writer: George Wigglesworth
Director: Indy Campbell
Who needs fancy sets and shedloads of props when George Wigglesworth is on stage? He’s such a confident, funny performer that we are with him all the way when he conjures up old-style boozers, football terraces, and, perhaps the most terrifying ordeal in any young person’s life, the nightclub queue.
The title of Wiggleworth’s play is a strange one, for sure. But for Queens Park Rangers fans, “Up The Rs’ is a football chant to be shouted at volume at the team’s home ground Loftus Road. And everyone knows what “Up The Rs” sounds like when spoken out loud. So, Wiggleworth’s writing debut is a gay coming-of-age story with added soccer stories and plenty of energy. Director Indy Campbell doesn’t waste a second.
Playing a character called ‘George’, the young actor has the comic timing of a stand-up. Indeed, Up The A(Rs)E begins with George, slurring his words at a mic stand as if he’s just about to begin a routine. Mid-joke, he stops to tell us what happened earlier on in the evening, and within this story are flashbacks to other recent events: buying drugs off a dealer called Elton and taking a train down to Brighton with his best friend and both of their fathers.
Accompanying many of these tales is a stellar soundtrack composed by Lewis Brennan, and it is used to great effect, especially when George, on his 18th birthday, is in the queue for a gay club, newly aware there are drugs in his pocket. As he counts down the number of punters in front of him before he is to reach the bouncer, the music builds to a crescendo. It’s definitely the most exciting scene so far at this year’s Camden Fringe.
Wigglesworth is a great mimic too, capturing with aplomb the voices of older men in the pubs they go to before and after the match. He nails the Multicultural London English (MLE) of the bouncer, and the soft tones of the other Elton he meets come as a surprise. Occasionally he reacts with other voices coming through the speakers, one of which belongs to playwriting royalty, Ché Walker. Wiggleworth’s delivery in these exchanges is perfect.
Perhaps the end of the play doesn’t quite work, the link between his father and the other Elton not quite as strong as it could be. And the subject matter here seems a little old for a boy still not out of his teens. But full marks to Wigglesworth for not spelling everything out. It gives the audience something to ponder after the 55 minutes are over.
It’s unlikely we will see a better solo performance than this in the rest of Camden Fringe. Wigglesworth is the real deal. Oh, and Chelsea fans may not want to attend.
Runs until 22 August 2026
Camden Fringe 2026 runs until 30 August
