Written by Becky K for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for our thoughts to be shared. All opinons are our own

In a personal one-man show, Raphael Phillips recounts in ‘Monkeyface’ his experiences as a young Black Gay man in university halls. Exploring queer nightlife and friendship cliques, Phillips shares a heartfelt account of his desperate search for belonging in a society that is not designed to include him.

Set within the four walls of his university bedroom, set designer Valentina Turtur builds the culture in which Phillips’ is trying to operate in. The backdrop is decorated with fashionable garms and posters of modern gay icons such as Charli XCX and Pinkpanthress. This was a visual insight into his messy bedroom while nicely touch upon the LGBTQ+ culture he is looking to connect with.

Phillips uses direct address as his main tool for his storytelling. He recalls the antagonistic encounters he has with toxic friends and flatmates while simultaneously shutting himself away in his bedroom. While there’s some clunky elements in his storytelling, including wandering accents when multirolling different characters, it’s a sensitive portrayal of mental health and identity.

To help understand Phillips’ character more, the script needs diversification. His tone remains the same throughout the monologue, where the narrative is only centred around his isolation and emphasising other’s lack of understanding of him. It would be interesting to build the backstory more and show further personality traits into who his character is rather than just reiterating how people don’t know him. This overall makes the show feel repetitive and presents more questions than answers into who he is.

Performing at Riverside Studios until 21st July, Monkeyface is very honest performance from Phillips that starts as a relatable story on the anxieties of starting university, then becomes progressively more unique to his own experiences.

★★★

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