After 18 months in development and a couple years of stop-starts caused by the Covid pandemic, BUFF finally premiered at the VAULTS Festival in February 2023, before transferring to the Edinburgh Fringe that summer. I am so excited that it will be touring the country this spring, meaning many more people will be able to experience this unique and heart-felt tale of acceptance. Arriving at this point has been (as we say in the business) a long yet rewarding journey, and I wanted to share the impetus behind the play, its story, and some of the themes and questions that have arisen because of it.
This all stemmed from a conversation director Scott Le Crass and I had about Gay theatre. At the time there were three or four “high profile” plays in London centring gay experiences, and whilst each tackled very different subject matter, they each featured actors with similar builds, and were marketed in a way that, let’s say, showcased those builds. Nothing wrong with that (I know I’m partial to a bare torso on a play poster) however, given that not all gay men are in the gym five to six times a week because they know they are going to be topless in front of an audience onstage, we started to discuss whose story was potentially missing or being left out. What followed, fairly quickly after that discussion, was a skeletal version of BUFF, a play that tackles themes of online dating, body image, and connection with a protagonist we usually see sidelined to the comic relief or supporting roles.
The story follows a plus-sized gay primary school teacher who has just faced a bad break up from a six-year relationship and is now looking out to the dating scene once again. However, he finds the landscape of these online spaces to be a much crueller world than when he last left it. On top of that, he sublets his flat to Jamie, a fitness model influencer whose own experience of navigating the gay world is vastly different. As the protagonist’s feelings toward Jamie grow, so too does his disillusionment with the gay community as time and again, the doors towards a meaningful connection are closed on him in ever humiliating ways.
My initial goal was to write a play about the need for self-acceptance. Acceptance of our bodies, acceptance of our sexuality, acceptance of who we are as people. What I hadn’t realised until we had debuted the play to audiences for the first time was that really, this was a play about loneliness and, at a deeper level, the need for connection and community. What happens if we have an all-time consuming stressful job, coupled with a complacency in a relationship that breaks down… well, it’s no wonder that our protagonist has inadvertently isolated himself from other people. In particular, other queer people. And this isolation has allowed immature attitudes and judgements towards other gay men to go unchecked. Whilst the protagonist has an endearing and relatable self-awareness in some areas, it was important to me that in this story, the more unflattering habits are called out to him. Hurt people, hurt people. The fear of rejection (particularly if we experience it multiple times) can lead to damaging outlooks and behaviours, which is why, again, we circle back to the watch word: self-acceptance. Can we look at ourselves in the mirror and go “I’m ok”. Particularly when we live in a society where social media, dating sites, and algorithms thrive off telling us that we’re not.
This act of self-love is very much easier said than done (and I’m not talking about this from a position of strength here). I have been saddened hearing the stories and experiences of people who relate to this play, reiterating the importance of centring this character. One man was telling me of the casual entitlement others had to comment on his body, the flippancy to discredit or mock his size, which day to day lead to something deeply traumatic.
Which is why, (I hope), by the end, this play offers a sense of hope and encouragement that it doesn’t have to be this way. To be confident and self-assured in ourselves (imagine that) means that a) we don’t have to put up with toxic behaviour and b) it lessens the chance that we practise unkindness too.
I have been so moved by the responses to this play, and I cannot wait for more audiences to see the enormously talented Jamal Franklin perform around the country. I have neglected to mention how funny the play is. Whoops… So let me say it now: this is a hilarious yet ultimately deeply moving story which will uplift and rally you! Come see!
About BUFF
BUFF is a critically acclaimed, one-man play performed by Jamal Franklin who starred in Little Shop of Horrors at Crucible Theatre and Limp Wrist & The Iron Fist at Brixton House. The story follows a plus-sized, gay, primary school teacher who decides to sublet his flat to a buff Instagram model after a nasty break-up from a six-year relationship.
Tour Dates
30th April – 2nd May Old Joint Stock, Birmingham, 4 Temple Row West, Birmingham, B2 5NY
8th May Harrogate Theatre, Oxford Street, Harrogate, HG1 1QF
9th-10th May Bath Theatre Royal, Sawclose, Bath, BA1 1ET
15th May Waterside Arts Centre, 1 Waterside Plaza, Sale, M33 7ZF
16th May Dukes Lancaster, Moor Lane, Lancaster, LA1 1QE
23rd May Curve, Leicester, Rutland Street, Leicester, LE1 1SB
29th May The Mill Arts Centre, Spiceball Park Road, Banbury OX16 5QE
30th May Nottingham Playhouse, Wellington Circus, Nottingham, NG1 5AF
31st May Eastern Angles, The Undercroft, St. John’s Church, St John’s Street, Ipswich, IP4 2BE
3rd June Hull Truck Theatre, 50 Ferensway, Hull, HU2 8LB
5th June Live Theatre, 27-29 Broad Chare, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3DQ
7th June Bristol Tobacco Factories, Bristol, BS3 1TF
