The Turbine Theatre welcomes the revival of Kevin Elyot’s first professional comedy, exploring the definitions of love and relationships in London’s 80s gay scene. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show, to let us know if its camp humour actually left it with a straight face.
“There’s nothing more erotic than being f*cked to Mozart”. I wonder if the author penned that line while listening to the composer’s crowning (or bottoming, if you prefer) achievement, Leck mich im Arsch (German is close enough to English to avoid any translations). Fair enough, if that’s the case. We all enjoy a little bit of tongue-in-cheek once in a while. In my case that may be everyday, but that’s just who I am anyway. Rims (I mean, rhymes!) apart, the prospects of a friendly dinner conversation diverting into sexual fantasies involving the creator of The Magic Flute (you know that was coming… well, both things are) may not be the highest. But then again, what’s to be called usual, expected or even normal when we’re talking about love?
Enter Coming Clean, a new revival of Kevin Elyot’s Samuel Becket Award-winning play dealing with the trials and tribulations of different kinds of romantic affairs in the 80s gay scene (not that nothing’s changed except that now we can make the homophobes bend over – and always in a fun way…). Directed by Andrew Beckett, the piece makes a nice attempt at providing us with a penetrating look (I’ve just been using the word “insightful” a lot, okay?) into all the things that we’re ridden with (and by…) when going through a relationship.
Building a promising background for a insightful (alright, you got me…) storyline to be screwed onto it (*smirk*), the production succeeds at bringing up some interesting themes into its narrative, but doesn’t manage to lube its way into a more in-depth journey – not allowing the material to pump up its entire potential, and thus let us taste a more filling substance. Though providing us with an entertaining recount, which also features a good bunch of amusing situations, the overall feel regarding the plot is of underdevelopment – unable to deliver enough introspection and verity to make both the characters and their path sufficiently engaging and, above all, relatable.
In addition, the writing suffers from a slight lack of cohesiveness when referring to its style, jumping from farcical, sitcom-kind humour to more seriously (sometimes poetically) toned snippets. All those qualities are, in fact, combinable, but in order to make things flourish, it’s always important not to hold the wrong end of the stick. Sadly, the script fails at blending these components altogether into a seamless unit – too many times, feeling a bit detached between scenes, and struggling to create much of an evolution other than its roughly sketched premise.
It’s always important to acknowledge how someone performs, especially in bed. Now moving on to the cast, a nice pat on the back (won’t say exactly where, though) is fairly deserved by its well-endowed (with talent) company. Among them, Sam Goodchild makes a memorable appearance through his always super sassy, but still differentiated, multi-role portrayal of William and Jurgen. However, the biggest praise (or worship, if he’s into that… towards me, that is) is earned by Yannick Budd in the lead part of Tony, for his electrifying and infectious interpretation which supplies his personage with charm and flair.
An honest depictions of some of the aspects concerning both modern relationships and gay life, Coming Clean offers a sincere take on the reality it tries to convey, but relies too much on its cliches – missing the dramatic, unique component that makes it worth of a tale. An edgier, unconventional approach that gives individuality to both plot and characters is essential for the play to grow exponentially and finally burst into satisfaction – apart from a few tweaks to make its dialogue feel wittier and, in the end, natural. You can’t go bland when you’re doing gay. After all, we reclaimed the word queer for a reason.
All pictures credit to Mark Senior.
Coming Clean plays at London’s Turbine Theatre until 20 April. Tickets are available on the following link.