Hot Gay Time Machine
Music
Lyrics
  • Zak Ghazi-Torbati
  • Toby Marlow
  • Lucy Moss
Book
  • Zak Ghazi-Torbati
  • Toby Marlow
  • Lucy Moss
Awards2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Brighton Fringe Award

Hot Gay Time Machine is a British musical comedy cabaret show created by Zak Ghazi-Torbati and Toby Marlow, and co-authored and directed by Lucy Moss.

Background

Hot Gay Time Machine was co-written by Ghazi-Torbati, Marlow, and Moss when they were students at Cambridge University.[1] The show debuted in February 2017 at the Corpus Playroom at Corpus Christi College.[2][3]

Productions

Hot Gay Time Machine was performed at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, winning the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence,[4] and returned for a sold-out run at the Fringe in 2018.[5][6] The show's co-creator Toby Marlow performed in Hot Gay Time Machine at the same time that another of his co-creations, the musical Six, was on in Edinburgh.[7]

In November 2017, the show had a brief run at The Other Palace Studio.[8] From December 2018 to January 2019, it had a limited run at Trafalgar Studios in London's West End,[5] for which festive jokes were added to the show.[9] In August 2021, it had a limited run at Soho Theatre.[10]

Plot and format

During the 75-minute show, Marlow and Ghazi-Torbati take the audience through "a musical retrospective of their lives", travelling back to the first moment when each of them realised they were gay.[11] Other moments they re-enact humorously include coming out and anxieties in the school changing room, through to their first sexual experiences and challenges in forming friendships with other gay men.[11] The show features two life-sized cutouts of Beyoncé,[12][6] and incorporates pop hits and dance anthems, as well as original musical numbers, including vocals and keyboard (the "hot gay music machine").[8][13] The finale for the show is a dance party with audience participation.[5]

Critical reception

Reviews of Hot Gay Time Machine have been positive, with many reviews describing it as "hysterical".[9][11] In a review for Attitude, Steve Brown described the lyrics as "[veering] from witty to filthy" and the music as "instantly catchy and delivered with madcap energy."[5] Paul Vale also commented in The Stage on Marlow and Ghazi-Torbati's high-energy performance, and quipped, "they are bursting with gay pride, ready to party and appear to have no off-switch."[8]

The music has drawn comparisons with Six, with Alun Hood writing in Whats on Stage that "HGTM...offers a cursorily similar combination of catchy, derivative tunes overlaid with coruscating lyrics."[9]

Fiona Mountford of The Evening Standard emphasised that the show was recommended for ages 18+ for a reason, noting that Marlow and Ghazi-Torbati "are not going to spare the details or the blushes".[12]

References

  1. ↑ Nathan, John (1 April 2019). "Hit musical Six creators Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss talk making Henry VIII's wives into pop stars". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Hot Gay Time Machine". Camdram. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. ↑ O'Connor, Thomas (6 February 2017). "Review: Hot Gay Time Machine". Varsity. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  4. ↑ Ferguson, Brian (26 August 2017). "Ceremony honours best of the Fringe: Major accolades announced at the Scotsman Awards". Evening News. Edinburgh. ProQuest 1932473266. Retrieved 7 April 2023 – via ProQuest.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Steve (14 December 2018). "Review | 'Hot Gay Time Machine' at Trafalgar Studios 'leaves you wanting more'". Attitude. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 Reece, George (2018). "A CurtainUp London Review – Hot Gay Time Machine". CurtainUp – The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  7. ↑ David, Keren (6 September 2018). "Six steps from university to the West End". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Vale, Paul (6 November 2017). "Reviews – Hot Gay Time Machine". The Stage. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Hood, Alun (3 December 2018). "Review: Hot Gay Time Machine (Trafalgar Studios)". Whats on Stage. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Hot Gay Time Machine, Mon 9–Sat 14 Aug 2021". Soho Theatre. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 Adnitt, Sophie (3 December 2018). "Sophie Adnitt reviews Hot Gay Time Machine starring Zak Ghazi-Torbati and Toby Marlow now playing at Trafalgar Studios 2". BritishTheatre.com. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  12. 1 2 Mountford, Fiona (4 December 2018). "Hot Gay Time Machine review: Bubbling with creativity and sparing no blushes". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  13. ↑ Petkovic, Timothy (5 October 2017). "REVIEW: Hot Gay Time Machine – Synonym-searchingly wonderful/magnificent/superb". The Cambridge Tab. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
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