Simon David’s skimpy, totally plain, black leotard, epitomises his chutzpah. This young performer, aged 23, describes himself as having “the voice of an angel and the body of a god”. He slightly misses the mark on both accounts, but there is something special about this performer and David is certainly not lacking in confidence, which bristles from every pore.
The premise of Virgin is not complicated. It involves David’s ongoing search to obtain a record deal and to lose his virginity. The latter seems somewhat unbelievable, as David camps it up throughout and flirts outrageously with some of the men in the audience.
Supported by a three-piece band, (members of which do at times look rather bored with the whole proceedings), David takes the opportunity to perform on both saxophone, piano and the accordion, as he recounts his troubled love life through songs co-written with Chris Larner (Fringe First winner). The songs, are enjoyable, if nothing special, until we reach one composition which really stands out – “Are you f*ckin kidding me?” has a melody which stays on the brain long after the show has ended.
An obviously skilled musician, David isn’t too bad at comedy either, happily riffing with the crowd. Assuming the persona of Katie (his first girlfriend), he does an amusing impression of a broken-hearted Geordie lass. (This is before he went to drama college and decided he preferred boys). And then there is the unexpected leap into the full splits that seemingly comes from nowhere.
There is something about Simon David that is mesmerizing, charismatic, and it’s worth going for that alone. The show is enjoyable in itself, but its David’s star quality that makes it special. He may not yet have found his true métier as a singer songwriter and is still a little rough round the edges, but it’s likely we’ll be seeing more of this young man in future.