You Couldn't Make It Up

Synopsis

Kevin is a handsome young man who's low on self-esteem. He wants to be a singer, but in the meantime he has to try to pay the rent. But how? John is a model, but he wants to be an actor. He'll do anything to be famous - well, almost anything. He needs help from someone. But who? Philip is a script writer. All his life he's fought for gay rights. Now he's blocked and can't write a thing. Things get complicated at a reunion of old school friends when a terrible secret is revealed. Philip now has found something to write about again. But - dare he do it? You Couldn't Make It Up turns the spotlight on the power-crazed world of the entertainment industry, revealing how some TV and movie executives dictate what we should watch, and consequently the way we view the world. Amidst all this, the battle for gay rights goes on...

Our Review:

23 May 2003

Patrick Wilde's new play takes a sardonic look at the notion that we're now comfortable with the idea of gays being assimilated into mainstream culture. As one of the characters points out, they're everywhere now, from Graham Norton to Michael Portillo. But this development has not been welcomed by everybody. The play's title is derived from the favourite phrase of columnist, Richard Littlejohn, always keen to castigate the gay scene.

It is this discomfort that Wilde taps into. How is it, he asks, that for all the changes that have been made, gays are still not wholly accepted in today's society?

The play is centred on Philip, a writer who wants to change the world but is reduced to writing TV soaps. His idea of a Dusty Springfield play is rejected until the producers take up the option of a more hard-hitting story if he's prepared to make changes and compromise the story. The lives of Philip and his friend Max (and their gay experiences of the 1980s) are contrasted wit...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.35.56.7) - 28 May 2003:

You couldn’t make it up by Patrick Wild is a entertaining little play, very funny and I liked it. A good young cast produce some lovely lines as the themes of sexuality and making your way in the word are explored. Some interesting questions are asked, but we don’t really get an answer to any of them. A good standard of acting, not least from Adam Redmayne as the anchor of the play Philip. Philip is secretly in love with the ‘straight’ Kevin (David Paul West), it all kicks off, secrets are revealed and then comes the redemptive conclusion. Actually I found the whole thing quite funny throughout, some wonderful gay jokes. ...

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