Cheaters - The King's Arms Theatre, Salford

It's July! Do you know what that means? Yes folks, it's The Greater Manchester Fringe. A whole month of various styles of theatre at a number of Greater Manchester venues. Tonight's offering was a cracking start to the festival.

Cheaters is a play where everybody sleeps with everybody. It is like a theatricalised version of The Jeremy Kyle Show. Dave, Alex, Jess, and Kev all have partners, but of course they are committing infidelity. Dave, who likes to think of himself as ape-like, fancies Alex. The rather shy, Kev is interested in Jess. However, when certain revelations come to light, the night turns awry and awkward, and things go from bad to worse.

The play started with a David Attenborough-esque voiceover, clearly reflective of the animalistic nature and sexual urges people have. It immediately set the comedic tone for the rest of the performance. It cross-examined the themes of adultery and infidelity through a crafty balance of drama and comedy. The play asked, why do people cheat? What is the point? Is out of greed? Is it to do with inner dissatisfaction? Is it because people want to feel wanted? Could it be a form of addiction which helps to block out difficult life issues?

In addition, what it means to be a man and the subject of masculinity was scrutinised. Is it really all about being a perfect sex God? Do you have to completely transform how you look, talk, and behave to seduce a woman or man? Is it essential to become this hyper-sensual guy with tip top sexual prowess?

A homely and stylish looking living room set (in Dave's house) was where the action of the play took place. The trolley of alcohol and snacks created anticipation for a wild and riotous night. The changing screen was used for a moment of comedy gold at one point in the play. Only one minor note, I think the cover, which was draped over some chairs to create a sofa, needed to be taped down because at one point I could see a chair.

After all the revelations, the twist and turns of the story, the play ended with all the characters at a therapy session. All of the characters gave their consent to be involved in a non-monogamous, polyamory relationship network. There was a brief feeling that it could work. However, the wife of one of the characters didn't know about the set up, and there was this overriding sense of it been a far-fetched idea. So, when one of them insisted, "We're not freaks", the joke landed beautifully and was hilarious.

The comedy acting was executed well with dynamism, but never became too over the top. Also, a funny and notable scene was the fight scene, where legs and arms were flailing about everywhere. Cheaters was a sexually charged production, with lots of hilarious moments, and made you realise how laughably ridiculous cheaters really are.

Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 1/7/18