30 and Out is an exciting and wild romp through Kit Sinclair’s real-life story of coming out aged 30. The show looks at every aspect of coming out as maybe an ‘older’ adult, the parties, the sex, the confusion. This hour long show is extremely high energy and features a variety of performance styles, from dance to music. What makes 30 and Out so special is its lesbian representation, which it does using interviews with lesbians from a range of backgrounds and with a range of stories.
30 and Out starts with the audience being invited into a traditional heterosexual home setting, where Sinclair at first carries out stereotypically feminine things such as decorating a cake and arranging flowers. These acts, however, are soon interrupted by moans of pleasure and some fingering and, um, eating out of fruit. Yes, you read that right.
The show is in equal parts outlandish, with the aforementioned fruit, the dance breaks and the ukulele playing, and deeply meaningful. Sinclair discusses difficulties with saying ‘lesbian,’ sex with women and homophobia, and places these issues in a larger and global context using the interviews.
Sinclair is a wonderful, engaging performer, who expertly portrays the coming out journey and change between the newly-out 30-year-old, who can’t say the word lesbian, and the confident and proud lesbian. Sinclair’s command of the stage pushes 30 and Out to be captivating and exciting.
The direction and staging of the show works very well, props are minimal and only add to the production. Similarly, the interviews that are used throughout to share different stories ensure that 30 and Out is always interesting, always has something different to offer and has a great impact. 30 and Out is also captioned throughout. Unlike other shows I’ve seen that have captions, these were always in time, were creative, and didn’t feel like they were a last minute decision made to increase accessibility; they feel like part of the show.
The only minor issue in the show is that it sometimes struggles to find a balance between being really serious and really silly. A segment about the Pulse nightclub shootings and hate crimes, which makes me tear up at first, is moved on from maybe too quickly, not really giving the audience chance to sit with their emotions. The show seems to be trying to be mostly about queer joy, but it isn’t possible to talk about this without talking about the negative things and homophobia that still affect us, and so I think it is still better that this is discussed a little bit rather than not at all.
30 and Out is an incredibly important show and a must watch this fringe, whether you are gay or not. It discusses such personal but relatable experiences in both a serious and light-hearted way, and draws attention to the stories that are not often seen in mainstream media. It is validating and emotional and so much fun, and Kit Sinclair is a supremely talented performer.
30 and Out is at the Pleasance Courtyard Baby Grand at 12.45pm until 28 August. Tickets are available here.
Image by Chloe Burton, provided to The Student as press material.