Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Low Down
How to Mate: The TED XXX Talk is drag king Steve Porters’ (Lock up UR Daughters) second show. Daisy Doris May has created an incredible character, the lad with the heart or gold, the life of the party with the sensitive soul. May is not only brilliant at characterisation, her dancing skills and charm with audiences are stellar as well.
Review
How to Mate: The TED XXX Talk is drag king Steve Porters’ (Lock up UR Daughters) second show. After teaching us how to flirt last year, this year brings mating skills. Steve now has a girlfriend and will teach the freshers how to follow in his footsteps, as a self-proclaimed ultimate ladies man. After BIRDS, the acronym of the teachings from How to Flirt: The TED XXX Talk, Steve is inspired to explore the abilities of different birds for this talk. The peacock for finding a mate, the penguin for falling in love and the pigeon for sealing the deal. Through lessons with audience members, musical numbers, a presentation and costume changes Steve goes through all the stages of mating.
Daisy Doris May has created an incredible character, the lad with the heart or gold, the life of the party with the sensitive soul. He is a self-taught feminist trying to become the greatest iPod DJ out of Surrey. Steve Porters keeps the energy up the entire show, with constant jokes at his expense and others. May is not only brilliant at characterisation and performance, her dancing skills and charm with audiences are stellar as well. The improvised jokes during the audience participation moments bring some of the most fun parts. The written jokes are well crafted and delivered perfectly, some are not as surprising as the ones in How to Flirt but still hit the mark. Some of the staples from the first show come back, allowing for recognition for those who went but not too many for the show to feel unoriginal.
Steve Porters satirises toxic masculinity while also cleverly showing masculine vulnerability, creating a really fun hour with a lovely message. In terms of the pacing the show has similar beats to How to Flirt but it brings the twist a little bit late this time, foreshadowing it slightly earlier would’ve made for a more well rounded show and a less unexpected ending.
All in all, How to Mate: The TED XXX Talk is a great time and a fantastic sequel to How to Flirt. Whether you have seen the previous show or not, Steve Porters is not to be missed, a groundbreaking drag king all around. I look forward to seeing any new characters from Daisy Doris May in the future. Her character German drag king Häns Off, born in the cloakroom queue of a superclub in Berlin and lover of techno, is hosting a cabaret night at the Fringe as well.
