Writer and Director: Isaac Quinn
Writer and director Isaac Quinn plays the single character in Retardant, a 75-minute play about the trans community in Belfast. Initially, the piece is very confusing, with constant references to specific seasons and episodes of a web show called Skivvies, a kind of queer soap opera with added songs like Glee. Quinn’s character – who is given no name – spiels off plotlines, pronouns and identities to such dizzying effect that the narrative is hard to keep pace with.
Sidled into this are mini-lectures on The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the lyrics of Alanis Morissette. The audience is on safer ground with the discussions of these pop culture essentials, but adrift when it comes to the complex lives of the characters in Skivvies. Adding to the chaos is the fact that the people in the web series have the same names as the protagonist’s friends in Northern Ireland.
Because of Covid and because he has autism, Quinn’s character is behind in education and has travelled from Donegal to Belfast to study for GCSEs and A-Levels, while most of his friends seem to be studying for their degrees at Queen’s. However, there’s little here about courses and exams, except to say that the protagonist is doing editing as one of his modules. Instead, Retardant focuses on the social life: a cycle of parties, clubs and karaoke where gender and sexual relationships are fluid. But Quinn’s character often misses the fun, stuck to his phone waiting for the next teaser of Skivvies to drop.
Admittedly, it requires great concentration to keep abreast of the various characters: even more so for Quinn, who doesn’t miss a beat. Fortunately, things become a little easier to follow when events on Skivvies begin to mirror incidents in the protagonist’s life. Is Art imitating Life, or is the other way around?
Just when you wonder whether Retardant would be more successful without the details of who is sleeping with whom in the web series, the protagonist’s obsession with Skivvies suddenly makes sense. The reason, revealed in a jibe from one of Quinn’s characters’ friends, is subtle but dramatic. It feels like the pivot of the show.
Quinn directs, but perhaps another director would be brave enough to make some edits to transform Retardant into a more manageable 60-minute play. Some of the stories from Skivvies could be cut without affecting the narrative at all. Nevertheless, Retardant finds a new way to portray the coming-of-age story, and Quinn’s performance is first-rate.
Runs until 9 August 2026
Camden Fringe 2026 runs until 30 August
