Cock Tales – the antidote to the Vagina Monologues
theSpace@venue45
daily at 15:00
“Upfront and erect in most of history’s greatest moments, the penis has earned itself a reputation of admiration and revulsion in equal measures. Barnsley’s Secret Theatre Company proudly presents Connor McGarry’s Cock-Tales and encourages the Staff of Life to raise its ugly head as they consider the role the male member plays in everyday life. Thought-provokingly funny. As a comedian once said: if you want to keep their peckers up, hit ’em with a few cock jokes. 10% of the box office goes to Testicular Cancer UK.”
Review by Richard Lambert. 2 Stars
The setting is a cocktail bar – there is the barman and 2 customers in the bar who interact and change roles. Basically a camp barman with 2 straight customers. One of the customers gives an academic description of a topic while the other plays the stooge.
The script is very straightforward. We’re presented with nicknames for the penis. The audience are then invited to suggest some however the list is pretty exhaustive meaning the audience can’t add anything here. Following the long nicknames list come tales of situations as the boys grow into men and encounter the world. We start with young boys becoming aware of their penises, who are then told off for wanting to handle them, sfollowed by further stories as they move into puberty and then adulthood.
There were a few line stumbles and at one point a callout for “line” to the stage manager. The intention seems to be to come across as a toungue-in-cheek academic discussion of the penis but somehow the setting doesn’t quite gel together with this approach.
The show continues in a similar vein finishing with a song.
COCK TALES feels like an abridged pantomime with an audience who chuckled at some of the one-liners.
Further info
presented by Barnsley’s Secret Theatre Company
in association with the Lamproom Theatre, Barnsley
Written by Connot McGarry
Produced by Ian Hey
Directed by John Kelly
The Bartender – Simon Curley
Dick – Richard Caile
Jack – Jack Land-Noble
Technical Manager Callum Arnold