Grab your best shirt, get your hair cut, and book a table at your favourite spot – it’s date night. Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz is an incredibly enjoyable and humorous look at a man struggling with modern dating, figuring out what he wants from it and life in general.
Written and performed by Nathan Queeley-Dennis, the story follows the character Nathaniel as he takes us through the ritual of his dates – exploring his semi-erotic relationship with his barber, his support network of friends that help him navigate his feelings, and eventually a seemingly perfect date with Kelly, a woman from his office. It’s as much a love letter to the highs and lows of dating as it is to the city of Birmingham, where the play is set.
Nathan plays the main character with such breathless charm it would be easy to assume it’s not a character at all, even though the play is not autobiographical. While other characters assumed by Nathan lack the same level of definition, Nathan’s exceptional rapping ability clears up any doubts that he is not a fantastic performer. His comic timing is fantastic and he is comfortable bouncing off the audience as they react to the joke-packed script. It’s a one-man play, but it could just as easily be played off as a stand-up show. All of this is enough to keep the audience onside and fully engaged throughout the hour.
At points, the content can seem a little flimsy; the end of the barber section lacks a meaningful climax, and the Beyoncé lyric bit felt a little contrived, although genuinely funny. Kelly is presented as a character with a very clear plan for the future – perhaps it would have been interesting to further explore Nathaniel’s ultimate apathy towards her as a defence mechanism in response to feeling threatened by her taking control of both the night and her life so confidently, an ability he clearly envies.
Charming, funny and superbly acted, Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz handles themes of race, modern masculinity, and modern dating with joy and ease. All of this makes it a fantastic, fun night out – whether it’s a date night or not.
