Wasteman – Vault Festival

Attended Wasteman at the Vault Festival on the same day it was announced that the subterranean performance jamboree is currently under threat. Having run in the formerly derelict tunnels in Waterloo since 2012, VAULT Festival has helped build the reputation of The Vaults over the past 11 years, bringing over 3,000 shows to more than 400,000 people. It’s like having an intense, bijou Edinburgh Festival in the depths of the capital and one might argue, it’s a tad more affordable and easier to manage.

According to the Urban Dictionary, ‘wasteman’ is what ‘you call a boy who’s a waste of space and is gonna be nothing in life’. British MC and rapper, Lady Leshurr extended the insult to a former Prime Minister in Queen’s Speech 7, “Who stood up when Grenfell? Where’s all the money we raised then? Theresa May is a wasteman!” 

Joe Leather has created a theatrical character, based loosely on himself, who embodies this cussing slang, by being a broke failure in the eyes of his peers, but also, working as a refuse collector for the local council.

Joe Leather is a dab hand at casual jobs, but he’s also a writer and actor from the East Midlands. Remarkably, there’s autobiographical truth to this tale, as he laboured as a rubbish collector during lockdown. He’s turned that filthy experience into a cabaret-cum-monologue that’s as entertaining and witty as it is life inspirational. From the neo-noir, torch song opening number, ‘One man’s treasure is another man’s trash’ the audience know they’re in talented hands. And Perspex heels. 

If Hollywood coughed up this plot, it might seem far-fetched and calculating, but Joe Leather lived it. For real. The observational detail and vérité of his experience are the factors that give this show its punch and power. It’s dazzling dip into northern working-class humour, but heartily span with sequins, leotards and a hi-vis vest. 

Using his work outfit as a USP on the gay dating app Grindr and then doing role-play sex work to pay for his drag-induced debts, are possibly aspects that Disney might sidestep, should they make this into a mini-series. Leather has a winning stage presence that instils empathy, even when he’s destructively catty, mildly deluded or possibly, quite criminal.

He packs a lot in. Wasteman tackles homophobic violence, toxic masculinity, drag on shoestring, relationship breakdown and the challenges of being queer in a straight workplace environment. With self-deprecating charm, a slew of one-liners and the occasional song and dance, Leather hits the big issues, but he makes it feel like a cosy chat with a very dramatic, but much-loved friend. 

With simple stage craft, a face of slap and a range of lively characters, Leather has written a very entertaining one-man show that brims with authenticity and grit. It may have sprung from garbage and grief, but Wasteman is a glinting gem in the gutter. 

Reviewer: Stewart Who?

Reviewed: 15th February 2023

North West End UK Rating: ★★★★