Boys In The Buff – Golden Goose Theatre

Boys in the Buff continues at the Golden Goose Theatre, London until 10 January 2026.

Star rating: fours stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

LAMBCO Productions sells Boys in the Buff as a ‘Christmas Comedy Spectacular for Adults’. Well it certainly isn’t panto, and not for the faint-hearted. In fact it bears no relation to Christmas, but most certainly is for adults and is a delightfully entertaining evening for anyone looking for an alternative to traditional Yuletide fare.

Here the running theme is the cast of a musical gearing themselves to perform their finale in the nude – some eager, some reluctant. Mother hen Maxie, a commanding performance from Tish Weinman, is marshalling her cast towards the finale. Though the plot is slender, it’s the songs that sell the production.

From the opening anxiety of ‘Dressing Room Babble’ with a nod to Fosse, the songs arrive thick and fast, the energy never flagging. There’s a song about football, others called ‘Size Doesn’t Matter’, ‘Gym Sequence’ and ‘Fat Jabs’, and ‘Disco in Heels’ – the performers sensational in red high heels and skimpy everything else.

Hats and towels are skilfully manipulated so intimate parts are kept concealed. And then the mood changes with an element of seriousness with ‘Ode to My Body’ referencing body shaming and a poignant ballad in ‘My Foreskin and Me’.

We get a Shakespearean monologue, a Folies Bergère routine with feathered fans and a duet in top hat and thongs which would be delightful if the BBC were brave enough to stage it in Strictly. There’s also a gender conundrum in ‘Neither Miss Nor a Mister’, a shadow play number called ‘Porn’, four skimpy Carmen Mirandas in ‘Tropicana’ and more as we wend our way to the finale.

Weinman dominates, and the four chaps shine in sharply delineated characters. Max Rizzo as Luca, once fat shamed now buffed; Adam Norton filled with anxiety at the prospect of revealing all; Liam Bradbury who sings about his foreskin; and Rowan Armitt-Brewster as the toughie redhead who is a self-confessed exhibitionist.

With some great harmonies, all accomplished dancers and actors, it’s an evening of delight. Yes the costumes by Addicted.uk.com are budget but they work and those red heels and pink fans are spectacular (Richard Lambert’s lighting is effective).

Robbie O’Reilly’s direction and choreography with its frequent nods to Fosse is great fun, and the moments of deep emotion have their impact. It’s a joyous evening that touches on some serious issues, but with a cast whose toned physiques must have played some part in their casting, it slightly contradicts itself.

Chris Burgess seems to be a writer whose work peppers the Fringe. I enjoyed Boys in the Buff just as much as Jewish Hollywood and Supersonic.

As to that finale? Do we get to see those buffed bodies in all their glorious naked splendour as nature intended? Well, I’m not giving the game away! You’ll have to go see for yourselves.

Get your wallets out, buy tickets and head down to Camberwell. Spend some money in the bar and have a night out. It’ll be a great start to your holiday season. I’m tempted to see it again.

Leon Ferguson