Written by Teale Howie. Presented by Legit Theatre Co. Old Fitz Theatre. 13–18 Oct, 2026
I could honestly go the rest of my life without sitting through one more autobiographical one-man cabaret or self-indulgent trauma dump. Thankfully, performer Teale Howie, dramaturg Hannah Barn and director Liesel Badorrek simply use Howie’s life as the spine for a more chaotic, more creative and more interesting show about the various performances of masculinity.
Admittedly, it’s not ground-breaking territory. Almost every gay boy goes through a version of this: looking at other boys and wondering why they feel different, trying to hide, before eventually letting themselves simply be themselves. And we’re all well versed in the perils of toxic and/or performative masculinity, which is only getting worse (thanks, social media!). But Dick Swingin’ makes a play to be something more than the sum of its well-trodden parts.
After appearing in some well-regarded dramas (The Inheritance, Anatomy of a Suicide), Howie is showing us his showmanship, reframing his life as a vaudeville act. It goes a long way to elevate the material into something more interesting and more thoughtful. This isn’t a show about big musical theatre vocals (Howie is more an actor-who-can-sing than a musical theatre diva); it’s a comedic critique of the world.
The blend of comedy, puppetry, hip-hop dance (yes, really) and music easily keeps the show moving, but at times it feels a bit scattershot. Jokes about Prohibition don’t quite land, and songs aren’t always effectively set up. We all enjoy a bit of literal “puppetry of the penis”, but it’s even better when the penis serves more narrative purpose, despite its crowd-pleasing dimensions.
Musically, Howie pulls from a range of sources like Andrew Lippa, Frank Loesser and Kander & Ebb, and reworks them to fit the narrative. The original songs have potential, but they need to be approached with more rigour to finesse the lyrics and make them worthy to stand next to the expertly crafted show tunes.
As Dick Swingin’ moves into its second half, it starts to deconstruct its subject matter, and its own storytelling, to great effect. You begin to feel the strength of a thought-through critique and underlying philosophy peeking out through the noise, and that brings a definite a thrill. This is a show, but it isn’t just a show. Some real thought has gone into these storytelling moments, and they start to transcend the basic premise. This is where Barn’s dramaturgy and Badorrek’s direction earn their credits. When the show clicks, it really works.
Having started life as a Covid project originally titled Who’s The Man, you can see how the thinking behind the stories has already deepened. There’s further to go to make this show unmissable, but it’s on the right track.
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