THEATRE REVIEW: The MP, Aunty Mandy and Me at Playhouse Sheffield.

WHERE does free choice end and sex abuse start?

Power, sexual predators and coercion are the themes of a brilliant piece of theatre from Emmerson and Ward productions in conjunction with Curve.

Writer and performer Rob Ward is amazing in a solo show that sees him play complex multiple roles and running the full gamut of emotions 

Small town young gay Dom gets taken on as a paid intern by his local MP and faces dilemmas and choices that turn him inside out.

Fast and funny, the audience is swept along by a powerful, thought provoking drama and Ward's sheer charisma and skill.

Dom, sexually opposite to his name (the first gag of the show), suffers panic attacks and is unemployed but is trying to become an Instagram “influencer”.

He lives at home with his ecstasy-addict mother who calls MDMA “Aunty Mandy”.

Dom, a member of the northern town’s famed pub quiz team, headed by the local Tory candidate, is more interested in steam trains than politics and a bit of a sexual innocent. 

When his gay local Labour MP offers him a paid internship post, it seems like a dream come true. 

But the MP, who has a husband who is away a lot, wants something in return.

Dom feels obliged as the MP has been “good to him”.

So soon he’s visiting gay fetish clubs and getting wasted on “Aunty Mandy” himself.

But reality kicks in when the MP favours a new bisexual member of his election team before Dom works out his future and can claim he’s won.

Ward is compelling and totally convincing as he switches from one character to another with just the slightest inflection in facial expression, speech or stature.

A clever set resembles a photographic studio, aptly appropriate for Dom's moment in the spotlight.

An authentic slice of life resonating with many young men, the play is supported by Survivors Manchester, specialists helping male survivors of sexual abuse.