Written by Greta for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own.

Content advice: Contains strobe/flashing lights, haze, sexually explicit themes and references to drug use.

I have a soft spot for art that takes an utterly ridiculous premise and follows it with absolute conviction; this is one of the many reasons HOLE! has thoroughly charmed me.

Set in a fictional town in Nebraska, the story begins when the pastor of a deeply devout Christian community wakes from a divine revelation. God has delivered a very specific warning: unless everyone wears a butt plug at all times, they will be sucked into the sky ass-first and meet their end. The congregation is sceptical, but the prophecy soon proves true. HOLE! recounts the aftermath of the Great Sucking, in which the pastor's followers are the only humans left on Earth.

Among the survivors are Luke and Connor – two absolutely straight, absolutely platonic, definitely-not-gay best friends. After a completely innocent misunderstanding involving a bit of coke and some life-saving fingering, they find themselves on a journey to prove their faith.

The performers - Jake Brasch and Nadja Leonhard-Hoope - have fantastic chemistry and impeccable comic rhythm, along with the kind of excitement for the material that can't be faked. The balance between dialogue and musical numbers is expertly judged, the storytelling is consistently engaging, and the show never loses momentum. The musical as a whole has a very fluid, joyful feel to it. It retains the delightfully shameless quality of indulgent fan fiction, committing to each lewd detail as much as to the larger, more universal repercussions of its story – queer awakening, questioning loyalty, unconditional love, and women in STEM.

Every aspect of the production is both creative and accomplished. HOLE!continually finds inventive ways of prodding the audience's imagination, supporting and enhancing a world that feels surprisingly complete despite its ludicrous foundations. It never feels like a sketch stretched beyond its limits; instead, it builds into a genuinely satisfying journey.

What is remarkable about HOLE! is that it never treats its premise as a throwaway joke. Instead, it commits to it with complete sincerity, taking its insane concept and running with it all the way. Not a single opportunity for a butt joke goes unexplored, yet somehow the humour never feels lazy. The script is astute enough to wring every possible variation out of its central idea while still finding room for surprisingly earnest moments. Against all odds, HOLE! has a real emotional core.

It's silly, unexpectedly heartfelt, consistently inventive, and just plain smart. A musical about mandatory butt plugs really shouldn't work this well, but HOLE! commits so wholeheartedly to its absurdity that it somehow becomes both hilarious and moving.

HOLE! is playing at Soho Theatre (Dean Street) until the 1st of July and then heading to the Edinburgh Fringe

★ ★ ★ ★

The Latest