REVIEW: The Only Man Who Won’t F*ck Me, Catherine Taaffe Productions, EdFringe 2026 ★★★

Armed only with a boxing dummy and a vivaciously pink outfit, Catherine Taaffe takes us through the misspent life of Kat, a sex worker who’s a built business on knowing what men want. All the while tumbling through life and covering her tracks from her family, friends and landlord, until she meets Logan, a trans boxer, and falls head over heels for the one man who… Well, you’ve read the title. Deeper than that, Logan is the only man who seems to be consistently looking out for Kat, in a world of men that she comes to realise she knows nothing about, despite the intimacy she gives to them.

Taking the form of a series of stories that explore the fantasies, fetishes, oddities and complexities of the men around Kat, unresolved threads soon begin to wrap around her, although it often feels that the unfocused script struggles to provide a cogent or resonant through-line to grapple with. There are plenty of laughs to be found in this setup, full of stories about Kat’s elderly sugar daddies tumbling down stairs, and of clients with particular penchants. This later reveals a deeper and darker side to what’s going on, that while a powerful moment, lacks the build-up to deliver a fulfilling pay-off.

Nonetheless, Taaffe delivers a spirited and well-rounded performance. Kat is a fleshed-out character, with conceit and complexity, presented just as such. There’s a palpable candidness to her that flows through earnest storytelling about even the most horrific of moments, and the dark humour embedded through the script provides a balance of grittiness and verve. This isn’t translated through into Taaffe performing other characters, particularly some of the men, who get lost in blocking surrounding the boxing dummy and don’t always come across as three-dimensional.

This puts the spotlight on Kat, firmly where it should be for the duration of the piece, and the realities of the precarity of sex work and its intersection with queerness. It is in its vulnerability to present the queer aspects of Kat’s life that The Only Man… shines brightest, with the interactions between Kat and Logan themselves worthy of their own separate play. Regardless of the structural issues and a little obscurity on some themes presented, Taaffe’s talent as a performer shines through, captivating the room and keeping the audience firmly on their toes across the hour.

Fine, engaging, and thoughtful work from Catherine Taaffe who debuts at the Fringe with a strong hour of storytelling that deserves a sharper focus.

Recommended Drink: Head down to the play party with your favourite Sugar Daddy and grab yourself a bottle of Dom Pérignon.

You can catch The Only Man Who Won’t F*ck Me at Playground 2 at ZOO Playground until August 30th (not the 17th) from 21:50 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.