How to be a Man

How to be a man is a light-hearted solo show that explores the crisis of masculinity, male privilege and gender identity.

The theme of masculinity is explored from a queer perspective, examining the causes and reactions to the crisis of masculinity, how in a world built around patriarchy both men and women have suffered. The work is an argument for feminism and a call for gender equality. It challenges men to own up to their inherited privilege and fight the urge to hold on to it.

Jon is a Manchester based theatre maker who has been making and performing theatre in the North West since 2009 and has performed across the UK as well as Australia and Algeria.

How to be a Man is written, devised and performed by Jon M Coleman, directed by Josh Coates with set design by Simone Romaniuk. The show has been created with support from Ovalhouse, Contact Theatre, Live at LICA and with funding from Arts Council England's Grants for the Arts scheme. This is the first national tour of How to be a Man. Other performances include; The Bureau Arts Centre in Blackburn, Greater Manchester Fringe Festival, Stage@Leeds and Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle, with further dates to be announced.

Examining themes of masculinity, How to be a Man answers the serious and not so serious questions; how do men make friends? How should a man dress? Why are more men committing suicide? How do you hug another man? Using a series of biographical, auto-biographical and fictional stories, How to be a Man tells us what masculinity has been, what it is now and what it could be. Woven throughout the performance is a story that begins with a small girl wishing it was possible for men to walk out in the street wearing high heels and a dress, and ends in a revolution that destroys our society and rebuilds the world as an entirely equal utopia.

How to be a Man was made as a contribution to the ongoing discourse surrounding the crisis of masculinity; the growing feeling of unrest experienced by men as society begins to realise that being a man cannot mean what it did a hundred, fifty or even ten years ago. It is about the conflict between male guilt and male privilege. Although these ideas are beginning to enter the public consciousness they have, for the most part, only been discussed in academic circles and much of what is said is both inaccessible and contradictory. How to be a Man is an attempt to place this discussion in a theatrical framework.

How to be a Man

Plymouth Fringe Festival, Jill Craigie Cinema, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA

Wednesday 1st June – 9.30pm

Thursday 2nd June – 9.00pm

Tickets - £8

Website: www.jonmcoleman.wordpress.com

Twitter: @JonathanColem

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonmcoleman/