Dramatic, daring and delusional, Benjamin Quirk bares it all with self-afflicting candour in CRUSH, a new solo theatrical endeavour playing at The Loading Dock Theatre from 24 – 28 September, as part of The Sydney Fringe, before playing The Butterfly Club, Melbourne, from 3 October 2024.
Following a sold-out premiere season at The Blue Room Theatre’s Summer Nights Festival in Perth, Benjamin makes his East Coast debut with a love letter to anyone who has ever had a crush.
Part queer fantasia, part damning self-excavation, CRUSH presents a heartfelt and harrowing investigation into all facets of desire. Braced with his signature loquacious comedic stylings, join Benjamin as he considers his early queer awakening, unhealthy obsession with Timothée Chalamet and the ultimately crushing weight of love.
Inspired by his own experiences, both charmingly good and desperately bad, Benjamin will attempt to understand the ongoing significance of crushes in the shaping of queer people. How the often whimsical and unrealistic nature of crushes compels us to perform versions of ourselves that may not be entirely genuine but become a lasting part of our identity.
An overthinker’s delight, get ready to unpack each obsessive detail and who knows, you might just develop an all-encompassing, rapturous, devastating crush of your own.
“His comic timing has the marks of Matt Rogers or even the primitive scratchings of an early Sean Hayes. Crush is the masterful work of someone very smart making jokes that are very stupid.” – Magazine 6000
CRUSH
The Loading Dock Theatre – Qtopia Sydney, 301 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst
Season: 24 – 28 September 2024
Information and Bookings: www.sydneyfringe.com
The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: 3 – 5 October 2024
Information and Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com
Image: Benjamin Quirk stars in CRUSH (supplied)