Oh! I Miss the War

This show was beautiful. All David has as far as a set goes is a chair, but through clear shifts in body language and good lighting cues, he seamlessly moves between his two characters. David explores the community's struggles in his youth while embracing the community's struggles now. This one man show is beautifully constructed.

I was gripped from the start. David is magnetizing yet reserved in all the right ways. I watched the show leaning forward in my seat.

His balancing act from Jack, aging London queen in the '60s, to his David self, also reckoning with the cultural shifts of gay/queer society, meet in a delightful poetry and raw sharing that made me laugh without smiling. Like I knew these men and the struggles they faced.

The sharpness, poignancy... I was grateful to be a gay man in that audience to take in such a performance.

For all the talk of fairies, David John Phillips is a spectacularly grounded actor. He holds a moment masterfully and a breath or a glance can be sumptuous. The show itself uses deliciously florid wit and candor to convey vivid and titillating insight into the intimacy, struggles and joy of gay men in different eras. The content is somewhat niche and perhaps not broadly relatable, but still we find entertaining and meaningful storytelling as well as an opportunity to understand the lived experience of another human. I came away from this performance thoughtful and hopeful.

A perfect balance of moving, humorous and educational. Despite coming to the show yawning and exhausted from a day of fringe, I was utterly enraptured from start to finish. This play is a gorgeous and skillful biography of white gay male culture. And though that is reason enough I’d recommend a watch, what floored me was the acting and performance itself. I could wax poetic over it, but I’ll stick to a simple HOT DAMN! My favourite fringe show I’ve seen, this is a must see! Also ofc I gotta mention as well the incredible lighting and blocking!

It is only half way through the fringe but thus far Oh I Do Miss The War is my pick of the fringe.

This show was so beautiful and tender. A one person performance and love letter to the ever changing queer community. From rent boys during WWII to a different kind of war during the AIDS epidemic in the 80's and 90's. This performance shows different slices of queer and kink history and the conflicted nostalgia felt when reflecting on those times.

There were funny moments where I absolutely cackled and other parts that made me cry, I'm so in love with this show and highly encourage people to check it out.

P.S. the lumos stage updated their seating and it's super comfy now.

Stories of Queer Sex, Expression, and Self-Discovery From David John Phillips

“Sex is magical”, writer and performer David John Phillips exclaims near the tail end of his one-man spectacle, Oh! I Miss the War. A combination of one of eight monologues in the collection Queers by Matthew Baldwin and Phillips’ own work, this play is a compelling two-sided conversation. The story follows two characters: Jack, a posh London tailor who reflects on his younger self’s shenanigans after the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 is passed, and Matt, an S&M bottom in Toronto looking for pleasure in a rapidly-changing modern queer community. The show also heavily incorporates Polari, a form of British slang derived from mostly Italianate words that the queer community used as a safe code in the 19th-20th centuries.

The way in which the script is written evokes live poetry; it is bright and colourful with its vocabulary, only made more enchanting with Phillips’ performance. With his booming voice, natural charisma, and expressive mannerisms, Phillips’ was not only a captivating lead actor but made the distinction between each character clear. There’s a great overall balance in the show between the chilling, emotional moments and the more humorous bits. The simple set works in the show’s favour, bringing focus to Phillips. And the lighting supported this even further, with very intentional choices being made to not only distinguish between Jack and Matt, but add emotional weight. One detail that stuck out was the inability to see Phillips’ full face clearly due to the lighting for most of the show, which added a layer of depth to the characters.

In conclusion, Oh! I Miss the War is vulnerable and eye-opening, while still making room for a few laughs and Phillips’ endearing stage presence. While this show may appeal best to an older audience, the story itself is still fresh and modern.

I adored this production. I'm in my late 30s, a mid-millennial, and these two characters and the way their stories connected to each other gave me, for a brief shining moment, a clarity about my own context. Progress isn't linear, and my ancestral line of queer elders and transcestors were facing the waves the same way we do now. David John Phillips gives a strong performance with only a chair, some lights, and his... charisma... to keep the momentum, and both Jack and Matt are very real people. If you're interested in queer history or just human stories, you'll enjoy this show a lot. (Also really enjoyed the soundtrack! If you noticed someone in the audience pre-show serenading their friend, that was me.)

The title hits differently now after seeing it! So lovely, I am so glad we made the trip to see this. The characters were beautifully embodied with such heart and history. Thank you for the levity, the joy, the tears, and for sharing this work of art.

Really stunning story about queer elders both knowing and still discovering themselves. Really thoughtful, well done, meaningful performance (and of course with a few good laughs). It gave me so much to think about when it comes to my own internal biases. If you’re queer, interested in queer history, or just wanting to think more about your identity, don’t miss your chance to listen to fairies sing in the moonlight!!!

I was simultaneously laughing and moved to tears by this show. The two scripts reminisce beautifully on the joy found in difficult times, but what was most captivating to me was the complete vulnerability offered to us by the performer. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

I want to commend the actor as it is quite the risk to play two characters solo on stage with nothing but a chair, some coloured lights, and your own gumption. There’s nothing else to draw (or distract) the audience’s eye from your performance. That’s a lot of pressure!

I think this actor did a great job of embodying the two characters in this. The script did a fair bit of heavy lifting in developing these characters, but this performer brought a lot in their voice, mannerisms, and movement to make these characters feel real.

Overall, I think this was fine. It sometimes felt a bit long due to its density and meandering pace. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see this, but it would make a decent gap-filler.