This one-man show by Nathan Queeley-Dennis is written on the wind. The thread of his material is gossamer thin, but the actor and first-time playwright performs with such light-footed charm, sure comic timing and sweet sense of male romanticism that he has the audience in his hands.
The defining image of Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz, winner of the 2022 Bruntwood prize for playwriting, is the black heart emoji. As Queeley-Dennis sees it, the social media symbol is a way for men – black men in particular – to express brotherly love without appearing effeminate. His play reclaims the ground for men – be they fathers, sons, friends or lovers – to express affection and also be sensuous, kind and empathic.
As with Miriam Battye’s Strategic Love Play, also staged by Paines Plough in the Roundabout tent, the setting is the world of twentysomething dating, a minefield of no-shows, awkward conversations and finely nuanced etiquette. Playing a character called Nathaniel, a fine-arts graduate working in a call centre, Queeley-Dennis appears as a serial dater who revels in the preening, dressing-up and occasion of it all. If only he were not searching for something more in a life put on hold by a stagnant economy, he could keep on like this for ever.
It is a refreshingly healthy portrait of masculinity, much as he scores many a laugh from his indulgences. His relationship with his barber is erotic in its intimacy. His skincare routine borders on the obsessive. And over the course of Dermot Daly’s production, he gets through several fancy shirts. With its references to Destiny’s Child (all the women he meets share the names of the singers), it could hardly be less macho, even as Nathaniel holds his own as a rapper when he ends up in a Birmingham techno club.
Funny and frothy, it has the delight and ephemerality of a standup routine. It would be great to see Queeley-Dennis return with more substantial material.
• At Roundabout @ Summerhall, Edinburgh, until 27 August.
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