Dust off your best ruffs – The Pesky Players are back and zestier than ever! Fresh off a hit run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023, The Fruity Prince is taking on London at The Drayton Arms Theatre, Tuesday 5 – Saturday 9 December.
“The Virgin Queen? I don’t think so! Lizzy 1 has a son and he’s fruity. A sizzling Tudor romp through seduction and scandal. And watch out for Shakespeare, he’s on the prowl… again.”
We’re here with QX to see how Gen Z theatre creators are keeping it light in times of political darkness. Since our time at the Fringe, the government’s stance on the Queer (and in particular trans) community has dramatically worsened. In October, the proposals of barring trans women from single-sex wards felt utterly dystopian. The ongoing delays to banning conversion therapy are also deeply concerning.
Now that the The Fruity Prince is taking London, we’re finding pertinent parallels in tackling these issues Tudor style – all with the sprinkle of that Pesky Player magic.
Henry faces conversion therapy when he is sent to the nuns, The Sisters of the Desperately Droopy. He is forced to choose from placards. A tankard of beer or a Piña Colada? Pamela Anderson or David Beckham? The whole conversion goes awry and a cockney catastrophe ensues.
In his epilogue, Henry reminds his audience to be, “grateful for the times you’re living in and the freedoms you have”. The Fruity Prince is “an empowering story of what could’ve been” **** West End Best Friend. It’s a reminder that history’s forgotten fruity figures are willing us Gen Z’ers to continue the fight for equality.
The Pesky Players are Toby France, Tandazani Sigauke, John Posnett and Katie Driver.
Tickets for The Fruity Prince: https://www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk/tickets/the-fruity-prince
The Fruity Prince runs from 5 – 9 December at The Drayton Arms Theatre, 153 Old Brompton Road, London SW5 0LJ, United Kingdom.
