Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Desperate Wee Gay Boy
Fraser Kelsey
Genre: Theatre
Venue: Underbelly Cowgate
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A weekend with Ollie, a desperate wee gay boy in the Capital, as he negotiates the usual traps of the modern gay scene.
Desperate Wee Gay Boy is a 2025 Edinburgh Fringe production running from July 31 to August 24 at Underbelly Cowgate. The story follows Ollie, a lively and impulsive Scottish man caught up in London’s queer club scene. Over the course of the piece, he recounts nights of heavy drinking, impromptu Grindr hookups, and moments of longing tied to memories of a teenage crush.
Review
Instantly we are thrown into a club scene, and Ollie (Fraser Kelsey, also the writer), is celebrating his birthday, with a solid determination to enjoy himself. He’s out with his best friend Siobahn, who is as loud as Ollie, until she gets a text from her boyfriend, who is about to dump her. Showing little sympathy, Ollie is left to his own devices when she storms off. From then on, his weekend spirals into the usual tropes of young gay drama, hook ups, desperate sex, drugs and the need to be loved. Much of this will be very familiar to watchers of gay drama and comedy over the years.
Whilst the play offers little that is new, it’s very well performed and has tremendous energy. Kelsey is totally convincing in portraying how Ollie’s determination to “feel sexy, feel flirty” leads to a rictus smile and some unfortunate encounters. A particularly excellent moment occurs half way through, a gorgeous piece of meta-theatre that would be a spoiler to reveal., It really lifts the show up a few levels. It also balances well the come down, the realisation that his best friend is there for him, and that’s what counts in this world, the allies we have. It also has some zinging one liners, he stands “dick length away” from a hunk in a club.
There is a long chat between the friends that needs to be lifted up off the floor, only the front row can see this, and it’s a shame, as it’s a tender and revealing scene. Morgan Ferguson is excellent as Siobhan, taking us from high to low to friendship with conviction, and the performers are never less than enjoyable. There’s also good audience interaction, Ollie pleading for water as the sun “bitch slaps my face.” It also taps into the zeitgeist of being young and in a big city, trying to find your identity, but also trying to live up to the pressures of having a good time and getting laid. And it has bags of charm, Ollie, despite his flaws, is a likeable wee gay boy.
