Jake Mace
Clad head-to-toe in Dorothy get-up, bejewelled red sneakers included, Michael DeBartolo bursts ontot he stage with an intimate, unrelenting and deeply funny fifty minute romp through his queer coming out story. From heteronormative groupthink (that’s an academic way of talking about Michael licking Jessica Rabbit’s tits on a TV screen in an attempt to fit in), to unpacking his sexual desires and accepting himself, all the way through to the romantic and platonic relationships that have defined his philosophy – live authentically, truthfully, and keep on doing so even in the messiest circumstances.
DeBartolo’s comfortable upbringing in suburban Connecticut makes him woefully aware of his privilege – but beyond any pretence he presents his bittersweet youth and blazen anguish with candour and energy. Self-deprecating humour blends seamlessly with reflection, introspection, and the courage to talk about sexuality outside of the confines of a heteronormative world. Discovering his queerness at a young age, he discusses how he suppressed it in favour of presenting straight for the simple fact that he believed he had no other choice.
A stark moment taking place in a locker room while at school leaves us sympathetic to Michael’s exclusion from groups at school, and his pubescent struggles to make a connection with any man that wasn’t highly sexually charged. As he moves through into his adult life we learn about his friendship with another man, and how he learned to open his heart. The ending is tragic, poignant and raw – leaving us contemplating how Michael presents this story with so much joy and glee.
Across the story allusions to the Land of Oz, and finding your way home and baked into a performance that sees Michael bound about the stage. It’s a storytelling style that lends immensely well to creating nuance between the tragic content and the moments of liberation and joy he finds within his twisting and often difficult personal history. True art liberates the soul – DeBartolo a natural born performer.
With wide-eyed ebullience to connect us to what Michael terms ‘the darker recesses of the queer mind’, he goes beyond that aim and finds something much more soulful. This is a story that rings with fearlessness to understand how the sexual informs sexuality, and how to craft a queer identity and relationship with those around you as you navigate your uncomfortable teenage years.
A surprisingly expansive lighting design paints onto a blank stage – the canvas across which Michael leaps and prances as he pours his heart out on stage. Queer coming out stories are one in a million at EdFringe – but this is among the most charming, introspective and bright, and narratively inventive.
Tell Me Where Home Is (I’m Starting to Forget) is a stout-hearted, exuberant personal journey that holds no punches in exploring the queer mind and soul.
Recommended Drink: Pair this with a Wizard of Oz themed cocktail.
You can catch Tell Me Where Home Is (I’m Starting to Forget) until August 16th at Annexe at theSpace @ Symposium Hall from 22:15 (50mins) and then from August 18th to 23rd at Annexe at theSpace @ Symposium Hall from 13:05 (50mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
