Wet Feet

June 20, 2024

18th – 29th June 2024

Wet Feet is a tale of prejudice, fear, love and Strawberry Yazoo. Set in the present day, Franko (Michael Neri), an anxious mid-30-something, decides to face his anxiety over his closet homosexuality. In the age of online dating, he would prefer to meet real people and takes a big step by attending a gay sauna. He accidentally enters a private room, occupied by Nathan (Matthew Edgar) – an out and proud man in his twenties. Franko is nervous, unsure of himself, and obsessed with cleaning to the point of OCD. Uncomfortable with being anything other than fully dressed, he refuses to remove his Golden Girls t-shirt, coloured towel, and bum bag despite Nathan’s best efforts. Everything he touches must be cleansed with a wet wipe first.

Despite their awkward first encounter, Franko returns for another visit and their relationship grows.

The play comprises a series of conversations, where it becomes clear where both Franko and Nathan’s personality traits stem from. Growing up under the shadow of Section 28, and being born to Jehovah’s Witnesses, it is unsurprising that Franco is scared to both accept and act on who he is. Being in control of cleanliness is being in control of himself.

The play is billed as a comedy and it certainly is, and nods to culture from 20-odd years ago triggering memories from a very different time. However, there were moments of real poignancy including Franko’s memories of his school days. Being bullied and beaten up clearly added to the complexity of worry that has followed him for over three decades.

“The piece ebbs and flows from touching moments to high comedy, beautifully crafted by the hugely talented Neri and Edgar”

Nathan, as a contrast, is confident in his own skin. He appears to have a solid relationship with his stepmother however we learn that his birth mother was less than accepting of his sexuality. His guard slips at this point and we see some fragility behind the mask.

As Franko’s visits to see Nathan become more frequent, he becomes less afraid and takes conscious steps to become his authentic self. We travel the journey with him; a journey from self-loathing to self-discovery, with patient, generous and loving support from Nathan.

Written by Neri himself, Wet Feet is a highly engaging script which held our attention from start to finish. The piece ebbs and flows from touching moments to high comedy, beautifully crafted by the hugely talented Neri and Edgar. We feel Franko’s pain, we empathise and gain a glimpse into the struggle of not being able to be your true self.

If there were a criticism of the writing it would be a lack of depth. Neri could have delved deeper into the effects that Section 28 had and the impact of growing up in the ’90s and 2000s had on him. The script touched on this but it almost felt glossed over and could have been explored more for further impact.

My company for the evening informed me that this play will resonate with every gay man in some way. We have come far since the abolition of Section 28 but we still have a long way to go.