A guy who has just been sexually assaulted is tied to a space heater while another man in drag dances vigorously to Beyoncé.

All The Single Lad(ie)s is kind of as inexplicable as that. Touted as “a confronting journey that takes you places you don’t expect”, All The Single Lad(ie)s follows a loose narrative interspersed with “drag-tastic” life advice through the medium of Beyoncé.

In the play, an armed man attempts to rob a clothing store; however, the female shop attendant manages to get a hold of the gun and the upper hand. What happens next is a dramatic recreation/straight up appropriation of the news story from earlier this year, when a Russian male who tried to rob a hair salon was fed Viagra and used as a sex slave for three days straight by the female owner.

For a performance that is meant to challenge perceptions on gender, simply reversing the roles isn’t really enough. In this case, gender role reversal didn’t really achieve anything revolutionary or even thought-provoking.

The “drag-tastic” life advice from our drag-tastic host is almost just as rudimentary, but it’s emphatically well delivered. Our host is engaging and funny, but the message isn’t as bold; All The Single Lad(ie)s didn’t really have much to say about gender beyond that it isn’t black and white.

While the message was obviously positive, when combined with the somewhat unimaginative narrative, it ended up coming across as shallow. While the cast were all obviously accomplished actors who were able to inject some enjoyment and suspense into an otherwise unoriginal play, the best part of All The Single Lad(ie)s ended up being the over-enthusiastic dance routines.

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