Claire Dowie bursts on stage wearing an awful long wig that was once blonde, and looking every inch a retired stripper or hooker. “I’m turning into a man,” she loudly confides to all present as she scratches her left nipple, then loses the false nails on her right hand, before her right foot begins to grow as does the same leg which is now longer and stouter than the left one – especially noticeable to others when she goes to the supermarket to buy cigarettes, even though she does not smoke – or didn’t as a woman!
Obviously inspired by Kafka, Dowie soon leaves him far behind, with graphic descriptions of the changes that occur within her body, but with barely a trace of “strong” language! Having said that, this really is “In Yer Face” stand-up theatre, much more so than Adult Child/Dead Child, which I reviewed a few days ago as part of Finborough Theatre’s current retrospective of Dowie’s work: Claire Dowie’s Swansong.
She frequently breaks the fourth wall, speaking directly to individual members of the audience, flirting with them, almost sitting on their laps, as well as moving well beyond the stage into the auditorium until everyone feels not only involved but surprisingly relaxed about it, as if all plays should be like this! The wonderful thing is that Dowie is so experienced with working with her audiences that this works, even to the extent of her thanking everyone almost individually at the conclusion. You feel that she is performing just for you!
I do not want to give too much away in case, dear reader, you decide to see this play for yourself, which I very much hope you will, but from start to finish H to He is very funny, not just because the way Dowie treats her subject matter is quite outrageous, and not just because she is naturally a very funny person, but because the play is so well written and structured with some truly hilarious one-liners which just suddenly pop out of nowhere!
Dowie’s set, designed by director Colin Watkeys, is very simple: a couple of metal tailor’s dummies wearing clothes and a screen upstage behind which she gradually changes, with Tina Turner and Shirley Bassey music effectively and sparingly used.
H to He was first performed in 2004, since when she has toured the play internationally, winning awards along the way, and there have been stagings in German, Romania and Kosovo.
The sixty minutes fly by and far too soon, He bids us farewell, with us wanting much more. I have seen and often reviewed many ‘One Person’ plays, especially since Covid, but I can truly say that this one of the best from every point of view: it is poignant, it says a great deal about C21 society in Britain today, and our attitudes to people who are ‘different’ to us, but, above all, it leaves you – or me at any rate! – feeling uplifted and positive, as theatre should! It is also very, very funny – and apologies for continually using that word, but it is!
I should have liked to have written that it is the best ‘One Person’ play that I have ever seen – except that this evening I am seeing another Claire Dowie play: See Primark and Die, which may well be even better!
Very highly recommended – go! Unfortunately, I am only allowed to award it…
Review by John Groves
H TO HE (I’M TURNING INTO A MAN)
Presented as part of Claire Dowie’s Swansong
Finborough Theatre
10 June to 5 July 2025 (selected dates)
