Unbearable Hotness review | Melbourne Fringe | The Motley Bauhaus

There’s something about Marissa in Gabriel Davis’ Unbearable Hotness. At a university house party, a group of friends gather in a bedroom and share stories, desires, and frustrations centred on the elusive Marissa - the “White Whale” everyone, men and women alike, seem obsessed with.
 
For a play that runs only 40 minutes, Unbearable Hotness crams in a lot of story. Even as a comedy, the result is fleeting flashes of authenticity over sustained depth. The supposed history between Jill, Brandon, and Marissa, which drives the loose main plot, never feels fully realised. With so many characters squeezed into such a short timeframe, some are left sitting in the background or reduced to delivering a handful of one-liners. Cutting two characters wouldn’t hurt the narrative at all in this instance.

The play also stumbles in its handling of sensitive themes. A brief detour into transphobia is awkward and underdeveloped, surfacing suddenly then vanishing after a few lines of dialogue. If Davis wants to raise these ideas, they deserve proper exploration. Similarly, a subplot involving one character’s attraction to his cousin lands less as dark humour and rather as outright creepy. These moments clash with the show’s absurd streak, which is not properly embraced or balanced with the social criticisms and emotional threads.
 
Lucas Dwyer’s direction keeps the energy moving, and the cast throw themselves into their roles with commitment. The chemistry within the ensemble works, and some of the bigger character choices do pay off with genuine laughs. But the play struggles to decide what it wants to be: farcical comedy, social commentary, or a slice of realism. In just 40 minutes, it tries to be all three and ends up spreading itself too thin.
 
Unbearable Hotness isn’t unbearable to watch - there are laughs and bursts of charm - but it needs further thought and craft. Either lean wholly into the comedy and drop the weightier themes, or expand the piece to give those issues the space they require. Right now, it seems to want to say everything, but throwing everything into the pot doesn’t necessarily make it spicier.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: The Motley Bauhaus, 118 Elgin St, Carlton

Season: until 5 October | 7.10pm

Duration: 40 minutes

Tickets: $30 Full | $25 Conc

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Image Credit: Perry Moon