Daddy’s First Gay Date. Seven Dials Playhouse.

STAR RATING:  3 stars

Writer Sam Danson’s well-received, semi-autobiographical debut single-hander BI-TOPIA explored the experience of coming out and living as a bisexual man. His latest, Daddy’s First Gay Date, sees the writer pair up again with director Rikki Beadle-Blair to address a similar theme, this time within the framework of an odd-couple, emotional triangle. There are plenty of laughs here – Danson pens and delivers some hilarious gags – and the piece has something to say about diverse experiences within the LGBT community. But one wishes Danson would take a few more risks with the traditional romcom formula. The will-they-won’t-they tension, never particularly acute, pales midway through, leaving the piece with the feel of an extended pilot sitcom.

Nerdy, 30-something, primary school teacher Ben (Sam Danson) has a burgeoning desire to explore his bisexuality. “What’s my queer brand going to be? he muses. He wants a gay guru to help him navigate the queer experience and has sought advice from “the gay behind the counter at Screwfix,” to mixed effect. But as he already has a habit of getting “drunk on sad folk songs and musicals”, one supposes that the die is already cast.

Striving to be himself brings Ben into jeopardy, in the form of breaking up with his partner of 15 years, Helen (Megan Edmondson), and of fronting up to the real or imagined prejudices of his mates in the small northern town where he lives. Contemplating separation on a dinner date at a local restaurant, the couple find themselves being attended to by the waiter and recovering addict Tim (Dior Clarke), who is about as flamboyantly camp as he can conceivably be.

Not content with furtively necking the couple’s wine, Tim listens in to their conversation and spies an opportunity for a sexual conquest that does not involve taking the train to Manchester. Plot shenanigans see Tim and Ben retire to the gents for some spontaneous canoodling, leaving Helen twiddling her thumbs at the table (“I’m having a very difficult poo,” Ben tells Helen when she calls to enquire about the delay). It is not exactly a standard meet-cute, but what follows is rather more by the book.

Ben wants to do the right thing by Helen, but he is also intrigued by Tim’s manifest charms and wants to follow up on the opportunity. Complications arise in the form of Helen’s newly revealed pregnancy and the fact that her adored father is terminally ill. Helen wants to do the right thing by Ben, too, which means giving him some space and, it transpires, acting as his personal Uber driver. Tim, whose current boyfriend, Jack, organises orgies in Preston to pass the time (who wouldn’t?), also wants to do the right thing, but does that mean staying with Jack or pursuing things with Ben? The neat setup feels somewhat less messy than it should be.

Daddy’s First Gay Date tracks Ben’s journey to finding a perfect—or even adequate—gay date, which ultimately means discovering his own unique way of being queer, fulfilled, and happy. The voyage is challenging for many, but particularly acute for bisexual men whose emotional and sexual attractions often feel irreconcilable.

Danson tracks the trio across six months, with excursions into a marriage proposal, dates from hell, drunken voicemails, Ben’s extended “slut phase”, a chorus from Wicked, and a predictable second-chance hesitation to commit: “Hold on, Tim, we’re not lesbians,” says Ben when Tim asks him to stay over. The ending, though, is never really in doubt, partly because the characters are so broadly drawn, and partly because Danson is so determined to stick to the formula.

Clarke’s is glorious as the inconceivably sassy, faux-fur-clad Tim (whose supply of short shorts and tight-fitting crop tops seems limitless). However, the character’s addiction backstory feels underexplored, as does his on-off fascination with the Preston orgy-arranger. Edmondson’s Helen slips rather too meekly into “slutting it up with my baby daddy” acceptance of Ben’s experimentation, but the performance is tremendous. Danson’s comic timing shines, and his Elton John impersonation is a showstopper.

Daddy’s First Gay Date is laugh-out-loud escapism. Real life is an awful lot messier than this.

Writer:  Sam Danson

Director: Rikki Beadle-Blair