He’s Perfect

Bewley’s Cafe Theatre

★★☆☆☆

Dion is looking to find the perfect man. Fed up with the toxic attitudes on dating sites, he decides to make himself a boyfriend. In the process, he interrogates the history of homosexuality and its accompanying cult of youth and beauty. He finds himself immersed in Ancient Greek legend and the biography of Ernst Röhm, whose open performance of his sexuality eventually brought him into conflict with the rest of the Nazi Party.

Written and performed by Conor Cupples on a stage littered with body parts, He’s Perfect contains much to admire — a bit too much, in fact. Apart from the historical excavations and personal revelations, Cupples’ monologue is interspersed with recorded material — interviews, news reports, dating profiles — that alludes to a growing global right-wing culture that further threatens Dion’s self-esteem and sense of personal security, crippled as he is by “Catholic guilt and internalised homophobia and thinking that dicks are a bit icky”.

There are some great one-liners in his script, but Cupples has a tendency to throw them away, with a rushed delivery. If the specimens of manhood Dion finds don’t quite measure up to his standards, alas Cupples’ show doesn’t either.

Runs at Bewley’s Cafe Theatre, Dublin 2, until Saturday, September 24th, as part of Dublin Theatre Festival