Torch Song ☆☆☆☆☆
The Turbine Theatre

When you were young did you ever see a play or a film and thought “This will be the blueprint for my life.”? For many gay men of a certain age, Torch Song Trilogy promised to be just that – not because of the high drama, the tragedy or the portrayals of anonymous sex in backrooms. It was, however, the uncompromising demand from its central character, an effeminate Jewish gay man called Arnold, for love, respect and family that stuck in the consciousness. Some of those battles have been won to an extent in courtrooms and legislatures around the world but for many the fight is still raging, on the street and in the bedroom.

Tonight, we are presented with a newly shortened version from New York’s Second Stage Theater called simply ‘Torch Song’ which has been edited down to two and a half hours from its original four hours plus running time by playwright Harvey Fierstein. The double Tony Award winning play has lost none of its power or hilarity and there are superb performances by a masterful cast and adept direction from Drew McOnie.

Matthew Needham plays Arnold and steps into the (fluffy) shoes of a character first performed by Fierstein. He creates a synthesis of Harvey’s vision and his own. With a CV that includes the Royal Shakespeare Company and HBO hit Chernobyl he dazzles with his vocal range and clarity. His delivery is technically superb (despite a wandering Brooklyn accent) with comic timing that makes the most of the punchlines. His ability to combine a quick witted drag queen and kvetchy Jewish mama all rolled into one waif like package is a joy.

A welcome diversity in casting creates a fresh modern dynamic in the relationship (and fate) between Arnold and Alan played here by Rish Shah (played in the film by Matthew Broderick) and also with professional theatre newbie Jay Lycurgo who almost steals the show with his supernova portrayal of David the troubled adopted teen “a cute kid…too cute!”.

Lycurgo is a good match for Needham in verbal dexterity and possessing a provocative physicality that cheerleads the beautiful movement qualities of the entire show. Indeed McOnie’s pedigree as an Olivier Award winning choreographer really shines through where there is a lot of movement on and off stage in the third act and he captures the French farce in the writing as well as the emotional highs and lows.

Ryan Dawson Laight stunning set facilitates this movement, places us firmly in Manhattan and Brooklyn and provides a truly wonderful depth of stage with a genuinely 3D set that seems larger than a railway arch venue should be able to accommodate. On a side note if you ever wondered why men bothered to wear flares in the 70’s look no further than the deliriously handsome Dino Fetscher who plays Ed (Arnold’s bisexual on/off lover – an orientation given rare stage time) with great warmth and sustains a nice but dim perma-confusion. His monumental physique really rocks in a pair of tight, high waisted denim flares! Oy Vez!

Daisy Boulton brings grace and poise to the most ‘difficult’ part in the play – that of Lauren (Ed’s soon to be ex-wife). Bernice Stegers plays ‘Ma’ and her powerhouse performance is guaranteed to trigger anyone who has had to come out to an overbearing mother when she says “You call this a life? This is a sickness!”

Harvey Fierstein says in the foreword to the 1984 plays script “you might just catch a line that reaches out and touches something inside of you. That is the worth of Torch Song”. So whether on the street or in the bedroom this Torch Song still burns brightly – a beacon lighting the way for queers everywhere.

THE TURBINE THEATRE
UNTIL OCTOBER 13TH

REVIEW : JONNY WARD

Jonny Ward, Queerguru Contributing Editor is a drama graduate but has worked backstage for many years at venues such as The ROYAL ALBERT Hall, The 02, Southbank Centre and is currently at The National Theatre. He lives in Hoxton, London and is delighted to check out the latest, the hottest and the downright dodgy in queer culture for Queerguru. (P.S. He is currently single)  @JonnyWard360