Sauna Boy is quite the insight into UK gay sauna culture. It’s a one-person play centred on the character Dan (Dan Ireland-Reeves) who’s an aspiring actor looking for work. Dan takes up work at an infamous sauna under the ownership of twenty-one years, Alan, an older gay man with controlling attributes that leach as an undercurrent to the play. Immediately upon taking on the role Dan is given the nickname Danny Boy in the first step of control and erasure of the person who existed outside of the sauna. The narrative takes place over almost a year, which includes leading up to the twenty-first celebration of Alan owning the sauna. Along with work mates Marco, Andrea, and Chase, Dan works excessive hours unable to have a life outside of work. There are treats on the job, the ability to drink and play with clients while on duty, which all hints at the carrot and mostly stick abusive relationship the boss appears to maintain. Ireland-Reeves is a talent at the accents and mannerisms of the individual characters. Each has their own quirk and for the most part a development arch. Some were done so well that by comparison the lead character at times came off as a bit plain. The sound and lighting were tightly produced and well-choreographed for the show. They kept the steady pace of the narrative and revealed the reality of lighting in venues such as saunas. It crafted a more direct experience for the audience of how changes in lights and shadows can mask and reveal reality as required. The vivid descriptions in the play remained humorous and highlighted the desensitisation process that occurs for people in such settings. Guests to the sauna can fully relax and be themselves, which can expose attendees to a range of initially unexpected sights. There were some descriptions of the hapless drag queen character that seemed out of place and touched on the trope of a gay man’s ‘ideal’ body. Based on the level of desensitisation of the lead characters and the many character flaws of the drag queen it felt odd to then add descriptions of disgust based on body shape and body hair. Sauna Boy is an overall polished small production of a semi-autobiographical story and has its run in a small venue just outside the hustle and bustle of the CBD Fringe hubs.