Lorna Irvine reviews a 'taboo tickler' hit on the Fringe.
Anthropomorphic humour has been covered before, notably by Eddie Izzard and Tim Minchin—but never quite like this. Is this the antithesis of a dry nature lecture? Do the proverbial beasts defecate in gladed areas?!
American comic actor Ryan Good, one member of the Neo-Futurist collective, has a solo show here that is as beautifully crafted as it is provocative: loquacious, relentless and above all, howlingly funny.
Linking animal behaviour with our basest sexual impulses, he uses film footage of slugs, penguins and turtles fornicating while providing insight on polyamorous tamarind monkeys, giraffes with a penchant for golden showers and bi-sexual mating technique among dolphins.
Never one to shy away from his own sexuality (he bounds on in a lion costume, parodying burlesque with a shake of his rear), he peppers his own first tentative experiences of relationships with random bursts of catharsis. He also flirts with audience members and talks extensively of his two current partners, with whom he lives in a polyamorous relationship. But this is merely a filter from which to explore alternative universe theory and human motivation.
More thoughtful than most of the reductive stand-up out there, this lion is a taboo tickler and charismatic educator- and above all, a sexy beast. GRRRRRRR!
Sex with Animals is at the Underbelly Cowgate at 2240 until August 24 before touring.
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