I sat down with co-creator and performer Jose Parra to find out more about Men Don’t Blush coming to Etcetera Theatre this November as part of Voila! Festival.

Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?

Men Don’t Blush is a 60-minute surreal solo show combining physical theatre, humour, text and gentle audience interaction to explore the feelings men have been taught to hide.

The audience meets Ignacio Rodríguez, a middle-aged man making gazpacho at home. Then a tomato changes everything, pulling him into a strange world where reality and imagination collide. One performer inhabits multiple characters, from a flamboyant spirit guide to a charismatic self-help guru and a childhood clown.

Audiences can expect something playful, unexpected and often absurd, with moments of genuine vulnerability and human connection. They also become part of the experience through gentle, optional audience interaction.

What drew you to this specific story?

I created the show following my own experience of testicular cancer. A doctor told me that many men discover they get diagnosed late because they find it difficult to make themselves vulnerable by going to the doctor.

I started asking myself why we find it so difficult to admit that we are scared, insecure or in need of help. Why do we sometimes feel we have to perform a particular version of masculinity, even when it doesn’t reflect how we really feel?

The show isn’t about testicular cancer itself. Rather, I use that experience as a starting point for a wider exploration of identity and what happens when we allow ourselves to be more than one thing.

What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?

One of the biggest challenges has been finding the balance between humour and vulnerability. I want audiences to laugh and enjoy the absurdity of the show without losing sight of the more personal questions underneath it.

I didn’t want to make a lecture about masculinity or tell people what they should think. Instead, I wanted to create a theatrical experience that invites audiences to recognise something of themselves in the characters and laugh at our contradictions.

I co-created the show with British theatre-maker Jamie Wood, whose contribution has been invaluable in finding that balance.

How does the design of your show (set, sound, or lighting) impact the presentation of your story?

The show uses a simple physical environment rather than an elaborate set. A table, a bowl and a tomato establish Ignacio’s ordinary domestic world, but these familiar objects gradually take on a life of their own as the story becomes increasingly surreal.

The physical language is central to the design. Through changes in movement, posture and character, I move between different people and worlds, often in full view of the audience. Sound, including a radio sequence, adds another layer to the story, connecting Ignacio’s personal experience with the wider conversation around masculinity and vulnerability.

We’ve also worked hard to make the production highly portable. The costumes for all five characters, the props and two backdrops with their supporting structure all fit into a single suitcase. This allows us to tour the show with a minimal set-up while retaining its distinctive visual world.

If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?

“Nobody is just one thing.”

I know what it’s like to be seen as just one thing, and I think we often put ourselves into boxes as well. We can be strong and frightened, confident and insecure, serious and ridiculous, sometimes all at once.

Men Don’t Blush is about allowing ourselves to be contradictory and constantly changing, rather than trying to fit into a single idea of who we should be. And perhaps learning to laugh at ourselves along the way.

Men Don’t Blush runs at Etcetera Theatre, London, on 21 – 22 November as part of Voila! Festival. Tickets available at https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/men-dont-blush/