REVIEW: Outing, Unseen Theatre, EdFringe 2025 ★★

Ella is sure her long-term boyfriend Jamie is about to propose to her while on holiday in Paris – but there’s one problem, Jamie hasn’t yet told Ella that he’s 75% sure he’s a gay man, and his friend Adam is trying to stop him before calamity strikes. With some good laughs and a linear storyline, Outing aims to explore the nuances between secrets, friendships, and romance in the light of queer revelations.

The show follows the trio in vignettes over a number of years, seeing Adam initially break-up with his girlfriend as he comes out a as a gay man, and quickly seeing Jamie come to terms with the fact that he’s not always been honest with himself about his sexuality. All the while, he seems to be embarking on a new relationship with a woman, leaving the initially sympathetic Adam out in the cold. As Jamie and Ella’s relationship develops into something more serious for both of them, all three characters reach a reckoning.

Outing doesn’t seem to know quite what it wants to say about this – it aims to dig into a “confusing grey area” when honestly the lines between each character seem rather apparent, one person is deceiving another, and over a greatly extended period of time. It’s hard to elicit sympathy for either Jamie or Adam when they both know this secret, which appears pretty morally evident. Jamie’s platonic love for Ella is neatly explored, but isn’t convincing as a driver for nuance.

This is not helped by the exposition-heavy script, that tells rather than shows most elements of the personal history of each character. There are some tightly performed moments of physical theatre that show some sentimentality and break up the otherwise very play-by-play storyline that doesn’t seem to find its narrative feet. Rather than watching the pivotal moments that make up these people’s lives, we see snippets that hash out the same secret about Jamie each time, and this leads to an inevitable scene later in the script where Jamie and Ella go through the motions of “remember this”, and “remember that” about their relationship, which fleshes out their backstories but doesn’t provide us any attachment to the characters.

Each of the actors does their best to work with the material, and even despite a couple of line fumbles provide a genuinely compassionate version of each character. I particularly enjoyed the back-and-forth between Jamie and Adam at the start of the piece, which sets the tone nicely. Many of the jokes land well with the audiences thanks to the performers’ efforts, even though there are literary and academic references that feel shoehorned in and don’t mesh greatly with the rest of the content.

All in all, Outing felt more like a comedy sketch dragged out over fifty minutes than anything else. While there is talent on display from the performers, the script does them little favours to deliver an impactful or clear message about queer identity.

Recommended Drink: Would you prefer Chianti or bottomless Tango?

You can catch Outing from August 8th – 23rd (not the 10th or 17th) at Space 3 at theSpace on the Mile from 19:15 (50mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.