F***Ing Games

by Grae Cleugh

It's not realistic to expect one person to remain faithful to another. I mean it just doesn't work, does it?'

Terence and Jonah have been together for ten years. Jude is young, good-looking and always chooses boyfriends badly. So, when he brings round his latest, Danny, the games begin. Fucking Games is a sharp, powerful and ironic portrait of contemporary gay relationships in the post-AIDS era. It premieres at the Royal Court Theatre, London in November 2001.

96 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2001

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, rounded down.

I used to teach a course in LGBTQ+ theatre at USF, so am always looking for new and under heralded gay plays. This one completely escaped my attention when it first came out 20 years ago now, and for a first effort, it isn't bad - albeit it inevitably hasn't 'aged' particularly well over the past two decades. I think it aspires to be a gay version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and doesn't quite succeed there - a bit melodramatic in places and definitely plumbs the seedier depths of gay relationships. But the characters have some complexity, and the climax (so to speak!) is a neat and nasty piece of work I didn't see coming (sorry!),

[massmarketbareback · Rating 5 out of 5]

i was surprised to find my first review of this play to be less than favourable as it is one i find myself frequently thinking about. although i somewhat understand, i first read this as a sixteen year old whose love for theatre was just blossoming and was taking his first steps into the queer-sphere. now i find myself with a deep appreciation for plays attempt to grapple with what life as could be like in the 21st century. it premiered in 2001 so is dated in many ways but manages to capture a debate (for want of a better term) that still continues.