Remembrance Monday ⚝⚝⚝⚝
Seven Dials Playhouse
The Seven Dials Playhouse in the West End is a tiny theatre. It only becomes more so in this Alan Souza directed play written by Michael Batten. The set is the smallest room in the house, the bathroom, a tub and a sink, and yet it still manages to tighten over the play’s 80 minutes. From a room, to a memory, to a lost thought, to a moment gone. A compelling claustrophobia.
Julius (Nick Hayes) is in the tub reminiscing. His first awkward date with Connor (Matthew Stathers) was all clumsy cuteness with far too quick revelations about their childhoods and their exes. Some of them are harsh, but familiar to a gay audience. The all too usual bullying at school, and a succession of homophobic incidents. But the date is still flirtatious enough to carry them through to a second and a third. Julius is self conscious about his body, with a yearning neediness in his eyes. Connor is more confident, more aware of what he wants, and in this case it is Julius. They fall in love, marry and build a loving life together. Petty arguments come and go. Each makes mistakes. Sexual infidelity happens. But their choice of each other works for them.
Except that this is what happens in totality. But not in that order. The story darts around, leaping forward and back. Jumbled and confused. The questions start to arise. Is Julius ill? Or traumatised? Are we in the past or the present? If he is ill, what is the illness? If he is traumatised what is the trauma? For the first 40 minutes it is unanswered, to the point of distraction. What exactly are we seeing? Or even if we know what we are seeing, it’s unclear why we are seeing them in this order.
Revelation comes, but it’s not our role to spoil whether the cause is trauma, illness or just dramatic choices. What you do need to know is how well Hayes carries the weight of the role. The poignancy of the moments of clarity within a sea of confusion. The ability to write the inner turmoil plainly across his body. The finely balanced line between heightened emotions and histrionics. Stathers performance is supportive in a succession of good choices. Stathers ably playing the depth of his character whilst keeping the spotlight firmly on Hayes’ disconcerting plight.
In a play without a timeline the ending comes somewhat abruptly, but on reflection it couldn’t have gone any other way. This is not a story that ties up the loose ends. It is deliberately messy and decidedly messed up. Accept that and enjoy the unraveling.
Queerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA and cultural STUDIES graduate spending his career between London, Beijing, and NYC as an expert in media and social trends. As part of the expanding minimalist FIRE movement, he recently returned to the UK and lives in Soho. He devotes as much time as possible to the movies, theatre, and the gym. His favorite thing is to try something (anything) new every day”
PS. You may also like to check out Queerguru’s interview that we filmed with Nick and Matthew a few days prior Check HERE
