Naked Boys Singing is eyeing a West End transfer after its current stint at the King’s Head Theatre in Islington. The musical comedy revue, “a plot-free, gay-centric paean to the male physique”, is conceived by Robert Schrock and features 17 songs by no fewer than 13 American writers, proving popular with a wide variety of audiences.
Already a hit across the pond, Naked Boys Singing has been running in Los Angeles since 1998. However, the show has attracted almost as much controversy as it has enthusiastic fans. Several productions across America, including the one in Atlanta, were deemed pornographic and closed down. However, this doesn’t seem to have had much of an effect on its success elsewhere in the world, with cities such as Rome, Oslo and Cape Town hosting successful runs.
Another recent King’s Head hit with an eyebrow-raising title, F**king Men, a gay version of Schnitzler’s La Ronde, is also rumoured to be making its way further south, transferring to the currently dark Arts Theatre, possibly along with Naked Boys Singing from next month. Naked boys and fucking men – now there’s a provocative double bill.