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The agony and the misogyny: Banging Denmark @finborough

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Banging Denmark, the comic play by Van Badham, answers the question, what lengths does a misogynistic pickup artist go to date with a frosty Danish librarian? It may be an uneasy farce given the subject matter, but it is made more palatable by the cast assembled to convince you of it. It's currently having its European premiere at the Finborough Theatre .  It opens with Guy DeWitt (Tom Kay) at one end of the stage. His real name is Jake, and he's a part-time podcaster whose expertise is misogyny and playing the role of the pickup artist. That is, someone who attempts to coax women into having sex with a mix of flattery or manipulation. His podcast attracts a variety of involuntarily celibate men (or incels), so call in asking for advice. And while he gives the impression of living the high life, he is in a grimy flat strewn with empty pizza boxes.  At the other end of the stage is feminist academic Ishtar (Rebecca Blackstone). She lives out of the photocopy room, losing all her

No small parts: Friend (The One With Gunther) @onewithgunther


Suppose you have neither the time nor the intellect to sit through 236 episodes of Friends on Netflix. In that case, thankfully, writer and performer Brendan Murphy distils the ten seasons into his show, Friend (The One With Gunther), as told by Gunther, that guy who manages the coffee shop.

The coffee shop is where much of the action of the show takes place. It's a strange location that looks like the show's creators couldn't work out whether it should be a bar, a diner or somebody's living room. But as acknowledged here, Gunther was there (albeit more prominently from season two), and so he is the best man to give his view on the goings on. And since the Friends characters always talked so loudly in the coffee shop, he could hear everything.It's part recap and part piss-take. The latter suits if you missed all ten series of the primarily white, often homophobic yet still curiously popular series. 

Murphy takes us back to a different time and place. The nineties. Before smart phones, high-speed internet and not as much choice about what to watch on television. With a series of recaps, audience participation and songs, he covers the ten seasons of Friends. No cliche or supporting character is overlooked as he reimagines the show from the perspective of Gunther. 

Murphy, who was previously in the the hilarious The Crown Dual makes Gunther much more fun here. Particularly when compared to the best of moments you can see on YouTube. But maybe that's because apart from never caring about the show, he's prodding us to think about why certain shows capture the mood of the time. 

Written and performed by Brendan Murphy and directed by Hamish MacDougall, Friend (The One With Gunther) is available to stream on Stream Theatre until the weekend and then available on Demand from next week until the 25 July. Even if you can’t stand watching Friends, it’s worth a look. 

Live shows may be coming (when eventually permitted), and check the website for details.


Photos by Steve Ullathorne


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