★★★★★
The idea of coming out can be daunting and challenging for any LGBTQ+ person regardless of age. Most of the narratives we hear are from a teenager or young adult’s perspective. Writer and performer Kit Sinclair’s new play 30 and Out gives us a refreshing take on queer identity as we delve into what it’s like to come out later in life.
We see Kit ready to embrace a new way of life, filled with love, queer joy, and sexual fulfillment. However, as she leaves heterosexuality behind, she soon learns that being a lesbian is not all rainbow flags and glitter. After a series of heartbreaks and increased social vulnerability, the audience is taken on a hilarious, emotive, and memorable journey of self-discovery, breaking down the complex struggles the queer community faces day to day. Sinclair gives a captivating and incredibly earnest performance. Not only does she excel at physical comedy, she also demonstrates an endearing stage presence, radiating with passion while also showcasing a vulnerable sincerity.
Kit ensures our attention never wavers, heightened by incorporating various theatrical techniques such as poetry, song, and recorded interviews with lesbians across the UK. We get to hear real shared experiences. From awkward first sexual encounters and tender moments of affection to serious and distressing incidents of homophobic hostility, these stories are interwoven to create a relatable portrait of lesbian experience. Each story adds emotional weight to Kit’s own narrative, making the play all the more immersive and poignant.
Aside from her joyous performance, Kit’s writing balances humour and pathos, seamlessly interweaving beautifully expressive language with hysterical double entendres and innuendos. Crass and sexual jokes are in abundance and are outrageously funny and, despite how prolonged they are, never feel forced or excessive. One scene involving a compilation of Nigella Lawson’s cooking innuendos and suggestive dance movements delivers explosive and sustained laughs from the audience which never faltered.
Even with such hilarity, this doesn’t deter from the more dramatic moments of the play. Take for example the skit in which Kit hosts a funeral for her heterosexual self. Laughter soon ensues as she lists off things associated with straight culture: “All Bar One, Live Laugh Love…”, then suddenly we’re brought back to reality with a loud thud as Kit rounds off the list with “being able to kiss in public.” This tone shift is skillfully executed with the pervading sense of uneasiness reminding us of the ostracism faced daily within the community.
Moving, authentic, and ferociously funny, 30 and Out is a warm, endearing, and genuine celebration of lesbian culture and embracing who you are.
30 and Out will be performed at Pleasance Courtyard – Baby Grand from 21-28 August at 12:45pm as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
Words by Katie Heyes
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