Holden Street Theatres is once again home to some incredible, local productions and The DOs and DONTs of Doing It is an example of the goods they’re showcasing during the 2023 Fringe Festival. The DOs and DONTs of Doing It is a play set to an afternoon game show theme with all the expected, overly upbeat banter that is peppered with layers and layers of puns. As the show progresses, these puns initially slip into small social commentary that later falls away entirely for truly emotive moments. The game show format neatly provides an inroad to the discussions around the inconvenient and awkward topic of sex, and in particular what sex and connection mean within the gay community. The realities of sex and when sex doesn’t seem to be working are introduced using real-life partners as the source material for the contestants in a game show where not everyone can be a winner. The perky nature of a game show provides a wonderful, sharp contrast when the excessive happiness is bluntly cut away for a final scene that demonstrates the personal and mental toll of not meeting intimate expectations. The canned audience chatter, lights, and buzzers used to effective comedic punchlines drop away entirely to focus on a raw, strongly acted monologue that capstones the play. Thomas Kostakis is joined on stage for the semi-autobiographical work by his assistant, Candace, who quickly bounces between the role of the delightful game show helper and the many faces of sexual partners who appear in the play. Both performers do an excellent job of shifting between the varied characters and moods they are portraying. The DOs and DONTs of Doing Its current run is on until 12th March with various performance times.