Dandy in the Underworld, Soho Theatre

Ah…Soho. The place where one can find art, sex shops, musical theatre, Chinese food and Class A drugs not-so-hidden down labyrinthine streets in a beautiful union of all of my favourite things… Ok, perhaps not so much the latter but in the eyes of Sebastian Horsley, author of the cult autobiography turned one-man show, Dandy in the Underworld,  and subject of many a Soho affection (apparently over 1000), I am clearly missing a trick.

Artist and self-styled dandy, Horsley became something of an establishment in the Soho scene, instantly recognisable by his penchant for velour and crimson, oh and that whole crucifixion thing. Never one to shy away from the scandalously decadent, Horsley was a modern throw back to the turn of the century gent whose self adulation, disregard for moral integrity and love of all things shiny, transcended a mere character trait to become a raison d’être.

Tim Fountain’s fantastic adaptation of the titular book is the perfect homage through the excellently cast Milo Twomey. With Horsley in attendance at the play’s opening night, it seemed he had achieved every egotist’s dream, watching his perceived vision of the self perform on stage in front of his eyes and those of his fans. However, a matter of days later, news of Horsley’s alleged suicide from a heroin overdose washed the play with a fresh gloss of Wildean melancholy; the Soho Theatre decided not to cancel the play and for this we can be eternally grateful.

In his loose silk dressing gown, Horsley begins to ‘make’ himself as he prepares for a lunch date at Claridges with latest object of lust, Henrietta. As welcome visitors in his Soho flat, the audience are drawn in by Twomey’s engaging delivery and devilish eye contact as he spins his tales of the sordid and the sodomised with the gusto and charm one should expect of any self-respecting dandy while he carefully dresses. In a room decorated with mirrors, life-sized cut outs, huge phalluses and human skulls, the set alone illustrates that if ever there was an example of a man defined by his materials, it was Sebastian Horsley.

Aside from the aesthetic, Fountain’s script embraces Horsley’s eloquent aphorisms, each more poignant and hilarious than the last, offering life philosophies for everyone, perhaps the most noteworthy tip being ‘too many cocks spoil the brothel’. However, intertwined with this debauched humour, Horsley remains true to the dark defeatism of the dandy, referring to himself as a ‘futile blast of colour in a futile colourless world’, a beautifully Romantic sentiment literalised by his pillarbox red suit. This admittance of his own futility echoes the melancholic undertones throughout the performance. With the knowledge of Horsley’s overdose still resonating, the audience watch in eerie silence as his energy, and ability to abstain from drugs, drains away after being rejected by Henrietta and he sits contemplating the drugs on his lap, so easily bought from the man beneath his window.

By the power of words, Horsley’s own words, Dandy in the Underworld demonstrates the ability of theatre to encapsulate the essence of an individual on stage, unwittingly bestowing this show with an epitaphic quality. As engaging and strangely seductive as Horsey himself no doubt was in life, the show tempts us with a life which should repulse our morals yet as the impossibility of Twomey’s closing line, ‘if you see me on Old Compton Street, please say hello won’t you?’ resonates through the audience, it’s clear something of Horsley will live on through those who are fortunate enough to witness this performance.

Dandy in the Underworld is showing until July 10 at:

Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street
Soho
W1D 3NE

Box Office: 020 7478 0100