fringe: the measure of a man

The Measure of a Man was not the show I was expecting.

Or not exactly anyway.

I also didn't realise when I picked the show that I'd seen Gavin Roach six years ago in his Confessions of a Grindr Addict show.

Like it's predecessor, Measure feels like an incredibly autobiographical show, but unlike it, there is no line between persona and performer, which makes the whole thing have an extra level to it that is incredibly raw and personal and revealing. Maybe not revealing... maybe exposed is a better word.

Doubly so when Roach spends the majority of the show in nothing but a hat, a denim jacket and a pair of briefs that put his "package" right out on display and at a lot of the audience's eye level.

Roach presents a show that talks about his penis, his relationship to it and sexual dysfunction in a confronting, amusing, frank, unabashed and frankly sad way. And there's an additional layer of confrontation given that he's discussing sexual dysfunction within the gay community, or perhaps just within gay relationships.

As gay men sex is "supposed" to be vital to who we are, how we relate to other men, how other men see us. So to approach the issue of a gay man who isn't the biggest, the thickest, the hardest, the most virile and what that does to him and how he sees the world is an interesting approach to a show. And one that made me more than a little sad and annoyed at the behaviour of the men he was describing.

Roach is an engaging performer who seems to effortlessly capture the attention of an audience, even when the themes got a little heavy.

yani's rating: 4 flops out of 5