How to Flirt: The Ted XXX Talk, The Box Soho Review

Written by Bronagh for Theatre & Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.

---

Steve Porters has been on, let’s just say, a journey when it comes to women. It’s been treacherous, and he hasn’t quite mastered the art of flirting just yet. Written and performed by Daisy Doris May, How to Flirt is an enjoyable night out, confirmation that there is no need to lock up your daughters when Steve Porters is around just yet. Previously performed in Edinburgh and at the Soho Theatre, How to Flirt came to the Box for one night only. The lights dimmed and we meet Steve Porter, ready to teach us the subject of BIRDS – Bold, Interesting, Romance, Dancing and Spooning. Steve is ready to teach us the art of successfully picking up a woman, based on the BIRDS principles, with many a statistic and role play galore.

May captivates the audience from the second they step on stage and gives a genuinely funny performance. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments, accompanied by moments of cringing and secondhand embarrassment. A lot of the content was relatable to me, and I suspect most of the audience given the reactions. It was all very playful, very funny and very much hit the right note with the audience. There is plenty of audience participation, which could easily lead into dangerous territory, but it was all good fun and went down a treat.

You can’t help but like Steve who is kind of sweet, kind of charming. Giving a woman a tampon with your mobile number on is quite nice, isn’t it? With slicked back hair, an impressive goatee and, obviously, a backward baseball cap you can more or less smell the hypothetical Lynx Africa from afar. May has created a brilliant character, rather endearing, who I could definitely see as the subject of further productions going forward. Steve is a fun character, who deserves some development going forward.

The issue with shows such as How to Flirt is that they do end up a bit ‘same-y’, relying heavily on one topic. Unfortunately, I would say How to Flirt does fall victim to this. Yes, I know that’s the point of the show, exactly how it’s marketed and what you go in expecting but the viewer fatigue was real towards the end. I will say I quickly perked during the very, very impressive dance routines towards the end of the show especially where the Backstreet Boys were concerned! A dance to Everybody is enough to perk up the most fatigued of audience members.

Staging How to Flirt in a nightclub was a very different experience to any other shows that I have seen, which have generally been in your traditional theatres. The Box has a stage area and a catwalk dividing the room, audience members either side. I personally really liked this environment; the only downside would be if you couldn’t find a seat, but thankfully I secured a nice booth towards the back of the room where I could enjoy the show in comfort. 

Overall, How to Flirt was an enjoyable night out, and clearly a crowd pleaser. It isn’t a show I’d watch again, which is no bad thing at all. I feel like the dating shtick has been done nearly to death, and I’ve seen my fair show of shows on this topic. Do I regret watching it? Certainly not, it was an hour of good fun on a Thursday night in Soho.

★★★