Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve Fucked

Overview

Just when you thought one night stands couldn’t get any more awkward, Oz outfit Unhappen arrive at the Fringe to present the Melbourne premiere of Rob Hayes’ Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve Fucked. Unlike some of the more esoterically-titled offerings in the festival, here what you see is what you get. In a series of connected monologues, Bobby speaks to a succession of cuddly critters — from the domestic to the exotic — that have all been the object of his affection.

Awkward Conversations is billed as a dark comedy, but the groundswell of critical favour that surrounded its first outing in Hayes’ native England speaks to the work’s deeper layers of meaning and sophistication. While the subject matter is fertile ground for crude humour, it’s also a situation that allows the writer to explore complex issues involving consent, zoophilia, and the role that sexual identity can play in isolating individuals from society.