Fringe: Tom Rosenthal’s comedy comes to the fore

Yes, I know it’s too late now, but note this performer for next year. Or if you’re in London late September, check it this show there.

The talented Tom Rosenthal (of Friday Night Dinner fame) has an hour-long chat about one of the worst things that ever happened to him – the theft of his foreskin. And he was only six-weeks-old so had no say in it….

Yes, he was circumcised. With razor-sharp wit (no pun intended) he spends an hour providing scientific research (backed up by a leading scientist) that there are no good medical grounds for this mutilation to this organ, and it has had a deleterious effect on his performance under the duvet to boot.

The foreskin, he argues, is useful for sexual pleasure (giving and receiving), and sex without it is like watching a 3D film without the required specs.

Rosenthal knows that not everyone shares his views – various religions among them – and he is adamant that this is not an attack on the cultures that practise it. His argument is just that tradition is simply not a good enough reason to perpetrate this mutilation when all that is required is a bit of savvy, soap and water, and in return you don’t have to suffer from his experiences (these range from teenage embarrassment and sexual inadequacy, to his OCD .

The chaffing and general uncomfortable nature of being in this state is overcome by a cunning little device – a ‘manhood’ – a fabric cover for his very own ‘manhood’, simulating what he no longer has.

He is likeable, funny and, although you might not take your granny to it, he’s a sell-out for a reason.

Playing at Soho Theatre, London, from September 23 – 28 inclusive.

Tom Rosenthal: Manhood, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh.

[review rating=”4″ align = “left”]

 

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