Those who shoot from the hip can easily shoot themselves in the foot, but Fin Taylor seems happy to take that risk. Taylor is one of those (straight, male) provocateur comics whose fearless plain speaking can shade into shock-jockery. But he’s a lively watch and often worth listening to – in recent years on the subjects of race and leftwing tribalism, and now – hold on to your hats! – on post-#MeToo gender politics.
When Harassy Met Sally isn’t a delicate take on our current moment, but alongside the missteps and highly debatable claims, there is some worthwhile thinking. And – in lieu, perhaps, of trigger warnings – Taylor has devised an amusing way to signal when his hot takes are about to get hotter to handle.
First up, he contemplates the infinite sexual possibilities of a post-gender future, and undermines with some good, prickly jokes the idea that anyone be defined sexually by what they “used to be”. Soon, he’s weighing up consent, which he argues must sometimes be given (or withheld) re- rather than proactively.
Some people will bridle. Taylor’s key words are “Obviously I’m being slightly facetious …” Some of his opinions – on the pay gap; on gender determinism – are too flimsy to be funny. It’s a stretch to claim that “men and women are different” is now a radical point of view. I can sign up to his call (rich though it is coming from a professional controversialist) for more nuance in the application of the MeToo hashtag, but not to his claim that Louis CK is a secret male hero.
Others might find more to object to here than to enjoy. For me, Taylor strikes a decent balance between having fun, teasing at bien pensant limits, and trying to progress the conversation on gender. Is a hand on the knee a new Schrödinger’s cat, he asks: both harassment and flirting simultaneously? Amid the garish sex comedy and loud disdain for fashionable opinion, he is making a striking effort – just as Natalie Palamides does with her cross-dressing show Nate in the same venue – to embrace the complexity of gender and modern sexual behaviour.
•At Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, until 26 August.
