Soren Royer-McHugh (Photo courtesy of Highways Performance Space)
Reviewed by Steven Vargas
Highways Performance Space
Through June 22
RECOMMENDED
“I have to take a piss,” Tommy (Soren Royer-McHugh) says as he rummages through Blockbuster VHS tapes, pornographic magazines and Funko Pops.
At first, the crude first line to Royer-McHugh and Derek Spencer’s Loser seems like an off-putting aside, but as the play progresses, it becomes clear that everything is intentional. The experimental one-man show immerses Tommy (and the audience) into his aunt’s basement where his dead cousin secluded himself with hentai, sugary snacks and media. His cousin Lee was a loser, at least according to Tommy. Following Lee’s suicide, Tommy is there to grab a few pieces of memorabilia before he flies back to his new, adult life in a different city. When he finds himself locked inside the maximalist and hauntingly pornographic lair half an hour before he has to be at the airport, Tommy must figure out a way to escape. “Loser” is a test of one’s sanity that uses space and risk to explore the definition of success, so much so that you begin to question who really is the loser and who is really just “piss.”
The play begins with Tommy rummaging in complete darkness with the light of his phone leading the way. He picks up an item and chuckles before shoving it into an empty pillowcase. As he wanders, items are revealed with his phone light: a DVD of Megamind, a Yoda lunch box, posters on the wall. When the lights finally go up, it is shocking. A pole containing wires is wrapped up to the ceiling. Metallic furniture, wall-to-wall porn and clutter makes you gasp.
Director Patrick Kennelly’s collaboration with lighting designer Darren Carter and set designer James Cowan (Rewarding, LLC) orchestrates a surprising introduction to an incel’s reality. The unconventional space places audience members throughout the room, sitting in chairs, stools and a couch that is part of the set.
Writers Spencer and Royer-McHugh craft the perfect countdown to hysteria with a dead phone, a locked door, no phone charger, an aunt who will be gone until Monday and a time limit. He’s screwed. There’s an intense monologue where Tommy muses on the extent of Lee’s “loser” status, after which his misfortune begins to weighs heavily on his sanity. A few dozen hand slams against the door later, he accepts his fate and leans back on the couch with a bag of Mike and Ike’s and a bottle of 7Up — Lee’s daily diet. Tommy explains that people can’t stay stagnant. You either go up or down. At first, this sounds like a dig at Lee and his self-inflicted purgatory. With another bottle of 7Up down the gullet, Tommy suggests the opposite.
Royer-McHugh’s performance is astounding and specific, reflecting Tommy’s changing personality. He strips his old life off his body by pulling his blue button-up off his shoulders to reveal a white tank. He puts on a robe, takes off his pants and dons Lee’s glasses. Originally boisterous, confident and easily aggravated, Tommy alters into a manic man. His voice gets shriller. His body hunches over. He becomes the loser he once teased. The play is a direct address to the audience, and Royer-McHugh ensures to make eye contact with each audience member. At the beginning, his greater-than-thou attitude is can be seen in his eyes. His stare soon becomes an invitation to join him in the basement.
As he mounts a waifu pillow (suggesting he’d arouse himself with it), he takes a sip from a bottle — then realizes he’s holding Lee’s pee and spits it out in front of the audience. His transformation falters slightly.
Loser constantly plays with risk, teasing viewers with vile acts. You think he’s going to pee into a bottle himself, but he’s too shy. You think he’s going to masturbate, but he retreats. You think he’s going to spit on you, but it flies in the other direction. This experimental work toys with the senses and discovers unconventional ways of creating tension. The tension isn’t just physical, it’s purposeful. With each recoil, Tommy’s character changes. He edges closer and closer to being a loser like Lee.
In Loser, pee isn’t just pee. His bodily excretion is how he gives himself to this new reality. He’s constantly battling weather to contribute to Lee’s clutter and submit to his incel behavior. Loser is a smart and innovative dissection of the psyche that physically and mentally pulls you into a life you might [would?] never want to pursue. But with Kennelly’s direction and Royer-McHugh’s performance, it feels slightly more possible, a testament to the magnetic energy created from the unconventional.
Throughout the play, Tommy yearns for a phone charger, a key and a Clif Bar. When he finally gets them in deus ex machina fashion, he is also presented with a funnel to pee in. Will he accept everything he’s been crying for and escape, or finally relinquish himself to loserdom?
“I’ve had to piss this entire time,” he says. He rushes to the corner, funnel in hand.
Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica. Sun., 7 pm; thru June 22. https://www.highwaysperformance.org/events/loser-2025-05-04-19-30. Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission
