Hilarious, sincere, sexy and brutal, Fitter is a deep-throated examination into modern masculinity and an athletic lesson in listening.
For their joyously messy verbatim debut, Hotter, Ell Potter and Mary Higgins interviewed women about their bodies, untangling their own emotions alongside their interviewees’. Three year later, their performance style has radically matured. Simultaneously muscular and tender, Fitter sees the pair interview men from ages 10 to 102 – for a probing, playful show that radiates empathy and generous curiosity.
In lemon and lime suits, Potter and Higgins are creative ventriloquists, hunching, humping and lolling over gym balls as they lip-sync to men’s voices. Some questions are the same as they were for Hotter – What’s the best thing your body can do? – while others nosedive to questions about physique, crying, masturbation, toughness and anal sex. The voices are dispersed through dance choreographed with verve by Ted Rogers. Where Hotter asked if you’d rather be hot or cold, Fitter asks if you’d rather be hard or soft. “No room for softness,” one man, six pints down, tells them over the roar of a football match at the pub. Others disagree, and it’s touching to watch the duo’s surprise at the tenderness the answers reveal.
This is where Fitter escalates beyond its predecessor; not only does it evade what could easily be twee or cloying by squaring up to our societal lack of confident vulnerability, but it reflects on the process of its own storytelling. Under Jessica Edwards’ direction, Higgins and Potter counter their own assumptions, criticise their interview techniques and question their agendas. They use the success of Hotter as a boost to further the ideas they’ve tested, rather than relying on it as a done-and-dusted formula.
• At Soho theatre, London, until 4 January.
