Writers: Nathaniel Foster, David Levesley, reid tang and Colin Waitt
Director: Charles Quittner
The HBO television series The White Lotus, as conceived by Mike White, is an anthology comedy drama in which each season takes place at a different spa resort in the global White Lotus chain.
The Divine’s Brooklyn Rep theatre company has taken the TV show’s multi-stranded format to create a spoof version of a future season set in a Reykjavik wellness centre. The show’s title, a reference to an iconic line uttered by Jennifer Coolidge’s character in the show’s second season, hints at the queerness within their spoof.
And so we have a bride-to-be who’s paying for her teacher friend to join her hen weekend and won’t let her forget it; a gay couple struggling to reconnect as one partner remains glued to his work phone; and a would-be rapper who’s supposed to get clean so she can donate her hair to Amy Adams for the actress to use as a wig when playing Boudicca.
Oh, and Björk (Jo Fraser) is the hotel’s Theremin-playing cabaret act. Because of course she is.
With a small cast that multi-roles through multiple scenarios, the comedic elements come thick and fast. Many jokes land well, especially those that veer towards the bawdier and queerer end of the comedy spectrum. Alice Morgan-Richards, in particular, brings a manic energy to her clearly differentiated characters. Dan de la Motte’s various roles, from insecure TikTok vlogger to snooty resort manager, find humour in the driest of lines.
Director Charles Quittner uses the full space of the Divine’s basement area, ensuring that each audience member sees some scenes near them while dealing with sightline issues in others.
That does at least allow for much of the silliness to be witnessed close up. Some subplots, such as those about Iceland’s last remaining Big Mac (and thus, a temptation for the juice-cleansing clientele) provide precisely the right blend of camp comedy and slapstick. Others, including a throuple dealing with conflicting expectations of the relationship (not helped by one of the three being a Kermit glove puppet), find themselves quickly running out of steam.
Indeed, throughout there is a sense of each plot strand being overstretched, limiting the available comedic potential. As a drag version of “what’s left of Jennifer Coolidge” announces an interval, one can’t help but imagine how much stronger this show would be if it kept itself to a strong hour of comedy. Instead, the show strains itself into a full-length form that it really cannot sustain.
That would also allow some scenes, which currently feel slipshod and under-rehearsed, to be either omitted or strengthened. As it is, These Gays! They’re Trying To… is trying too hard, getting in its own way and preventing the ensemble’s comedy credentials from reaching their full potential.
Runs until 4 January 2025.
The Reviews Hub Score:
Sporadically funny spoof
