That fisting story is the graphic (but true) start of an artistic journey. Pup Play: A Queer Pseudo-Lecture (of sorts) is a multi-award-winning comedy (of sorts) written by and starring me, Noah Alfred Pantano. This show, on at the Barons Court Theatre during Camden Fringe August 12-16, explores the kink of pup play through the lens of a pseudo-academic lecture by Professor Handler David. Using multimedia visuals, puppets, and punk music, David’s lecture on the queer practice of Pup Play transforms into a deeper reflection on queer identity. The show was written as part of my PhD in Theatre Studies.
Pup play is a fetish community about roleplaying as a young dog, often misunderstood to be simply a sexual fetish. We are the weirdos you see walking around in those neoprene dog masks at Pride. The performative nature of pup play (and kink in general) and the massive implications of engaging in such a community made it a fascinating intersection for my PhD research into staging polyqueerness.
While the show has garnered multiple awards and critical acclaim, it has also faced an intense backlash, including posters torn down and hateful online comments that I should kill myself or that I am to blame for the LGBTQ+ community not being taken seriously. Colchester Fringe told me not to flyer on the streets because I would likely be hate-crimed in Colchester.
That is what I wish to discuss with you here. Spoilers ahead: the lecture is a façade. Pup Play is a damnation against homonormativity, homophobia, and ignorance. The aggressive reactions and hate against the show is in part why the show exists. Beyond this, Pup Play exists for Professor Handler David (and myself) to affirm what it is about pup play that fuels our queer identity.
Audiences are often shocked to hear the extent of the hate against the show happening in their own towns. One of the most powerful moments in any of the performances thus far came during Tampa Fringe, when one woman cautiously raised her hand in response to my statement: “Raise your hand if you think it’s safe to wear a pup hood in Tampa.” Her answer, the area of Ybor where the show was being performed, was immediately and tearfully shot down by a pup in the front row. Not a single other person in that packed audience dared to raise their hand. We all know, but rarely acknowledge, that the pup hood (or any outward displays of queerness) are often a death sentence in public.
David pleads: “This is the environment we’re in. The environment you sitting here, in this audience, is complicit within. That I’m complicit within because what the fuck have I done but rant to you all. And I’m trying. This is me, trying.” Pup Play is begging audiences to do more for our queer community while simultaneously determining David (and my own) complicity in those systems.
“Pup Play… the award-winning brain child of the immeasurably talented Noah Pantano, is maybe the fringiest Fringe play I’ve seen… For the adventurous audience member, or the ones who just admire terrific theatre and the fine art of balls-to-the-wall courageous storytelling, it’s a must. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll bark like a dog. What more do you want?”
– Broadway World
Pup Play has instilled in me the need to use my art to speak out. Individuals use violence (and our fear of that violence) to make our queer community scared. In the final moments of Pup Play, I break character. Speaking as both Professor Handler David and myself, we speak rather bluntly about these hateful experiences. We realise a paradox: “I’ll never be happy if I’m afraid to be myself but I will be afraid if I am myself. So who am I supposed to be? What the fuck am I supposed to do?” The answer: you must do what you can. Nobody else will do it for us. Nobody will give us permission to be who we are. Only in that bold stance, unafraid against hate, does a promise of a utopian horizon present itself. To be a pup, as Diogenes would argue, is to be an indifferent and shameless guardian of one’s belief. The artist’s job is to be unafraid and speak the truth. Cowardice is complicity. Silence is death.
The play serves a practical purpose. Pup Play has raised over $1400 for LGBTQ+ charities local to where the show is performed. Despite receiving little financial compensation for my work (near all the profits have been donated), I am proud to know that the show is making a tangible difference in the community. The impact of each ticket sold is profound, not just in supporting LGBTQ+ charities, but in sparking a conversation that extends beyond the theatre.
I don’t expect everyone to fully understand (or want to be a part) of the pup play community. But I do hope the show encourages people to think critically about their assumptions, their complicity, and their role in fostering a more accepting, inclusive society. The purpose of Pup Play is not to shock for shock’s sake, but to remind us that queerness — and kink, in all its forms — is part of who we are, and it’s time we stop hiding.
Pup Play: A Queer Pseudo-Lecture (of sorts) runs August 12–16 at 7:30 PM at Barons Court Theatre during Camden Fringe. Tickets: £14, with concessions available.
Fetish Gear encouraged.
Follow: @mrnightless | @pantsoffproductions
