Palatable Gay Robot
Comedy becomes meta-commentary in Stephen Brower's Palatable Gay Robot, an incisive dissection of gay stereotypes, designed to be, as the title suggests, "palatable" to a predominantly hetero audience. This #edfringe debut starts innocuously enough as a tech demo for HumaVibe's new model, Billie Bowtie, but evolves into an uproarious and poignant rollercoaster ride of #identity politics…
The performance rests on Brower’s incredible character-switching, a technical marvel facilitated by voice-over intros and remarkable physicality. Each of Brower's robotic avatars lands with perfect timing, hitting all the expected checkboxes for gay caricatures—flamboyant, sassy, tragic—before glitching into another cliché. It’s like watching a 21st-century performance piece on #OscarWilde's “mask” theory come to life, where the “pose” constantly changes but never reveals the man beneath…
Casting the show as a #tech demo is a brilliant framing device to explore who exactly is pulling the strings in the representation of gay identities in #media. A biting critique is laced throughout the #comedy, aimed at Billie’s proclaimed target demographic—28 to 45-year-old women. The humour is uproarious but shrewd, serving a dual purpose: to entertain and to #expose…
The only hitch is the stage. It's barren, under-utilising the visual dimensions of #theatre, and creating an undue reliance on Brower's performance to fill the void. Some nifty tech elements make an appearance but don't entirely compensate for the lack of scenic splendour. Given the AI/technological theme, it’s a notable oversight…
But just when you think you've got it all figured out, Brower recounts a heartrending anecdote that snaps you out of the artifice. The sharp pivot into a raw, personal narrative acts like the unexpected third act of a Shakespearean play. It elevates the performance from a satire to an earnest cry for genuine representation…
In all, #PalatableGayRobot is a clever, insightful show with a heart that beats loud and clear by its final moments. Brower’s commitment to craft and his nuanced critique on the state of gay representation in media make this a must-see. 4/5 Coming to @phoenixartsclub Sep 10th