^{Picture: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan}

There aren’t too many shows that start by handing out a ‘glossary of gay’, and it’s fair to say there’s a definite undertone of rustling paper as homonormative Gordon begins his journey from ‘spooning with Prince Charming energy’ to Berlin’s infamous sex parties where, quite literally, anything goes. Along the way, he finds himself crashing out of sex parties at the Malmaison hotel (who knew?), making new pals, trying a few new drugs, and repeatedly reassuring us that he’s ‘not posh’. 

In Ode To Joy (How Gordon Got To Go To The Nasty Pig Party), Stories Untold aim to highlight voices that are not heard in mainstream spaces: this play (written and directed by James Ley) is subversive, dirty (like, really, very filthy) and funny as hell, with some sharp observations on the appropriation of queer culture along the way (any straight audience member still on the workplace Drag Race Teams chat will be taking a long, hard look at themselves). 

^{Picture: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan}

Ley isn’t afraid to play with form either: the fourth wall comes and goes as struggles over who controls the narrative foreshadow Gordon’s own awakening. That Ley does this so successfully is the key to it all; at heart, this is simply a beautifully written, well-made play. At Fringe time, anything other than a one-person piece feels like a cast of thousands, and Brian Evans, Marc MacKinnon and Sean Connor (supported by live beats from Simon Eilbeck) are obviously having the time of their lives. Sure, there’s confident swagger by the bucketload, but the audience is in safe hands. It’s outrageous, but never exposing; storytelling that aims to include rather than exclude. 

Looking down at the party from the hard, high seats of Summerhall’s horseshoe-shaped Demonstration Room reminds us of the point and power of theatre. As MacKinnon’s narrator Manpussy notes, there are only seven stories in the world (and gays get two); while every beat of Gordon’s tale is NSFW, every single second is suffused with a particular kind of tender joy. A touching epilogue shows that every journey to find ourselves is valid and that, eventually, we all get to choose our narrative. All you need is a few pals, the right costume and a little bit of scat (not the jazz kind). Gordon, Manpussy and Cumpig not only teach us a few new words, but show us that joy is everywhere, if we only care to look for it.

Summerhall, until 28 August, 6.20pm.