Pearse Egan shines in Ben Fensome’s Buff, encouraging you to love, cringe, and applaud alongside his character of Nick as he navigates dating and body acceptance in a world not designed for him.
When Nick breaks up with his boyfriend, he’s forced to sublet his flat to an Instagram-famous friend. However, when Nick’s hopes for Jamie fall short of reality, he’s forced to undergo a journey of self-acceptance that you can’t help but root for.
Directed by Scott Le Crass, Buff combines laugh-out-loud moments with raw emotion to great effect, with acting from Egan strong enough to make you forget he’s alone on stage. This powerful performance is let down somewhat by repetitive dialogue and a reliance on repeating back words of invisible counterparts. While it would have been rewarding to see more creative ways to conduct a one-man show, the decisive monologues intersecting these one-sided exchanges make the show well worth a watch.
The stripped-back set leaves a lot on Egan’s shoulders, but he stands up to the task admirably, inviting the audience along on awkward nights out and cringe-worthy conversations at home that truly make you wish you could jump in between him and the hurts of being a plus-sized man in the dating world. He knows when to roll his eyes to maximum effect with the audience, and when to step back, leaving you intrigued as to what’s about to come.
While Egan’s deft handling of the role makes this show worth a watch, I could have done with more exploration of Nick’s other relationships. Buff drops titbits of family and circumstances that don’t really come to fruition until the very end, when you’ve almost forgotten when they were last mentioned.
There’s certainly a lot to love about Buff and some tighter scripting would have done it wonders. Undoubtedly, it’s a powerful story with an even more powerful performance to underpin it.
