Review: THE LAST INCEL, Pleasance Theatre

Incel. As a word, its used as an insult, a harmful label, a warning. But what if the men who once was called the cautioned word started wearing it like a badge of honour and as a way to validate their disturbing behaviour?

The Last Incel is a play written and dircted by Jamie Sykes about the internet culture of incels and their ideologies about women. To quote the show’s glossary, an incel means ‘Involuntary celebate. An online community of men who are willing and physically able to engage in sexual relations but unable to find partners. They believe this is due to the dissolution of traditional courtship, the rise of feminism and increased sexual promiscurity/superficiality among women.’ To put it plainly, men who hate women due to their own personal lack of attention from them.

The play uses no set, simply immersing you in a world of Zoom meetings, a small discord group, and… dancing? Having only square cardboard-cutout screens as props, the cast take you through the dark and twisted world of an incel for an hour while almost fully succeeding in making you sympathise with them.

The story tells of Jack, known online in his incel groupchat as ‘Cuckboy’, as his zoom meeting with his friends is interrupted by the girl he’d brought home with him the night before, Margaret. After discovering that their friend is technically no longer an incel, due to him no longer being a virgin, the group is sent into a catastrophic dilemma focused on if Jack should even be allowed to be friends with them at all. And so, follows a whirlwind of misogynistic abuse thrown at any woman in earshot. And, in this case, it is Margaret - an up-and-coming journalist that Jack had met at his brother’s stag party.

The inhabitants of the group chat are Crusher (Jackson Ryan), Einstain (Jimmy Kavanagh), Ghost (GoblinsGoblinsGoblins), and, of course, Cuckboy/Jack (Fiachra Corkery). Setting herself the task of trying to change them is Margaret (Justine Stafford), who takes pity on the group after losing her seemingly similar brother a few years before.

Ryan as the leader of the group, Crusher, created the perfect unsettling environment with his performance. His ability to snap on command between a raging misogynist with a tongue so foul you need to prepare yourself to listen to (I didn’t, so I’m warning you), and a seemingly lost man who needs protecting, Ryan gives one of the best performances I’ve seen on stage this year. His use of the ‘Kubrick stare’ makes hairs raise on audiences arms if they locked eyes with him for too long. He makes you sympathise with him just long enough for him to lure you into a false sense of security and change, only to rip it all apart with a charged monologue at the end about being the last incel left. Stunning work from the actor. I hope to see more of his career.

The only person able to match his level of uncaring, but on the other end of the scale, is Margaret. Stafford’s character was one of the best examples of a woman who I’ve seen in a play. I’m sure 99% of female bodied and identifying people have experience the sheer brutality of a passing with an incel, so much so that you become numb to their ways. Margaret was just this. Stafford’s acting is beautiful, layered in truth and feeling. She means every word she said. She creates the perfect balance in the cast. Although she is the only female, she takes her space and makes sure audience members knows she is there.

The incel you feel most sorry for (if that is even something to say) is Cuckboy played wonderfully by Corkery. His portrayal of Cuckboy is heartwarming one minute, tragic the next, and then absurd - almost like the lost puppy of the group. It is very apparent that Cuckboy is the one who has been almost led astray by the others, proving that his ideologies come from the boys he is friends with rather than his own thoughts - perhaps because they were the only people who would be friends with him? Corkery perfectly amplifies the point that incels are human beings with a warped perception of themselves as well as the women around them. A thoroughly enjoyable performance from the actor. 

Kavanagh’s performance as Einstain provides some of the most comical moments in the show, fully committing to every section. As the oldest character of the group, you’d expect Einstain to be the most forward and leading, but he’d far prefer to sit back and watch his favourite film: Drive (2011). Kavanagh is another one to watch as his performance was very refreshing.

And finally, rounding up the cast, is Goblins as Ghost. Seemingly the shyest, or rather quietest, of the group, Ghost is undoubtably loyal to his friends, Cuckboy in particular. Goblins’ comedic timing is spot on in moments of chaos, proving gags that catch audiences off guard in the best way. One minute you want to laugh with Ghost, maybe even protect him, then the next you’re taken aback by the vulgar and disrespectful comments his genuinely believes in.

The piece itself does just what you would want it to. Simplistic direction and set creates an atmosphere where you have to focus solely on what the actors are saying and allow yourself to be sucked into their world. It is so incredibly acted by the entire cast that you fall into their rhythm with them. The dance/movement sequences were added just in the right moments, in particular the last two sequences (Margaret's brother and Crusher’s breakdown) were personal favourites as they shifted the tone in a way that speaking can’t. A triumph from start to finish.

It is a must watch while you still can.

The Last Incel plays at the Pleasance Theatre until 31 May