Coming Clean

Trafalgar Studios

Reviewed – 11th January 2019

★★★★

“there is a period charm, enhanced by Amanda Mascarenhas’ design, the attention to detail of which is faultless”

“Coming Clean”, Kevin Elyot’s first play premiered at the Bush Theatre nearly four decades ago. That it took until last summer to be revived, by Adam Spreadbury-Maher, at the King’s Head Theatre is quite astonishing. Now at Trafalgar Studios, it can bask in the long-awaited attention it deserves. Predating, by a decade, his breakthrough play “My Night with Reg” (which covers much of the same ground) it consequently suffers from being branded as his ‘first promising play’. Originally titled “Cosy” – a pun on Mozart’s opera which plays an important part – Elyot reluctantly compromised on the title but, thankfully, none of the material.

The play is set in a North London flat in 1982. Struggling writer Tony (Lee Knight) and his partner of five years, Greg (Stanton Plummer-Cambridge), seem to have the perfect relationship. Committed and in love, they are both open to one-night stands as long as they don’t impinge on the relationship. Into their lives walks Robert (Tom Lambert), a ‘resting’ actor doing a bit of cleaning on the side. It is no spoiler to reveal that cleaning is not the only service Robert does on the side, but the repercussions are what form the backbone of the drama.

Central to the drama is whether fidelity is both emotional or physical, or whether the two can be compartmentalised; and whether total honesty paradoxically damages a relationship or whether ignorance is bliss (a dichotomy that uncannily foreshadows the misleading misnomer of the “Don’t die of ignorance!” campaign during the onset of AIDS). But it is a mistake to delve too deep. “Coming Clean’ is foremost a bittersweet comedy – and in my mind more sweet than bitter where the laughs outweigh the woe. The central characters’ neighbour, the donut-devouring William (Elliot Hadley), almost single-handedly holds the show together with bursts of colour and comedy. Hadley’s is an outrageously powerhouse performance with the lion’s share of the best lines. He chides but cherishes Tony, a complex character movingly portrayed by Knight. There is an interesting dynamic between him and Plummer-Cambridge’s growling Greg, with shifts of balance that are eventually toppled by the dashing Robert. Lambert manages to tacitly show us that there is a more calculating undertow to the rippling clumsiness of his ingenue façade.

To call it a ‘gay’ play is, like most labels, an ineffectual tag; the questions addressed apply to anybody and everybody. Take away the sometimes graphic references to their sexual practices and these characters can become as generic as the audience; which is all-encompassing. That is part of the beauty of Elyot’s humour that overflows with sharp and brutally honest one-liners that we can all relate to. For that reason, the dialogue, too, crosses over into the present day with ease, never feeling dated. Instead, there is a period charm, enhanced by Amanda Mascarenhas’ design, the attention to detail of which is faultless.

Nostalgia can often be confused with obsolescence. But Spreadbury-Maher’s production shows that a refusal to buck to the trend of updating in no way lessens the impact of the material. Yes, it is rooted in the eighties and in the gay, male culture; yet it resonates beyond boundaries and becomes universal. Which is what defines great theatre.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Scott Rylander

Coming Clean

Trafalgar Studios until 2nd February

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Strangers in Between | ★★★★ | January 2018

Lonely Planet | ★★★ | June 2018

Two for the Seesaw | ★★ | July 2018

Silk Road | ★★★★ | August 2018

A Guide for the Homesick | ★★★ | October 2018

Hot Gay Time Machine | ★★★★★ | November 2018

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★★★★

“artistic lighting creates a snug, clandestine ambience, with resourceful and imaginative scene changes”

Far from 1850s Paris, we enter through the sleazy glow and pulsating bass of the King’s Head Theatre into present day England for a new take on Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’. Stripping the story to its core and adapting four main roles to fit the update, Becca Marriott and Helena Jackson recreate the life of Violetta as a pole-dancer who chances upon Elijah (Alfredo in the original), reluctantly dragged by his father into the club where she works, and finds true love. Although a chunk of Alfredo’s story of male friendship and rivalry has been omitted, this adaptation adheres to the original idea of social reputation by making Elijah’s father anxious for his own political career (rather than unable to marry off his daughter) and he manages to persuade Violetta to leave his son. The ending moves away from the melodramatic tableau of the heroine dying in her lover’s arms, to an angry re-encounter of the couple and, while clinging on to his image, her decision to find her own freedom.

The combination of Amanda Mascarenhas’s red-tinged set and Nic Farman’s artistic lighting creates a snug, clandestine ambience, with resourceful and imaginative scene changes. In contrast to the grandiose, full-scale productions, this one concentrates on the intense relationships between four of the opera’s characters, Panaretos Kyriatzidis’ arrangement of the orchestral score for solo piano working well as an accompaniment. Oliver Brignall’s expressive tenor tones capture the changing moods of Elijah – nervous, enamoured, angry, impassioned. However, the strident power of Becca Marriott’s singing dominates the occasional duets they have. Talented as both librettist and soprano, she interprets Violetta with anguish and desire but could shape the music with more variety of dynamics and articulation. The intricacy of the coloratura in ‘Sempre libera’ is lost and we miss the spiritual quality of her final scene. Michael Georgiou as Sinclair, Elijah’s father, is the only one to compete with Marriott in volume with his strong yet lyrical voice. He adds a light-hearted mood at the beginning and, later, unnerving persuasion with Violetta and Elijah. Flora (Gemma Morsley) commands the stage as she oversees her nightclub but, despite showing her true vocal potential in a couple of instances, she is barely audible in the group passages.

Verdi’s ensemble writing is such an important part of his operas. The threads of the plot weave together and the parts need to be balanced to be able to appreciate the narrative and the music. A readjustment in certain sections would give everyone a chance to be heard. This ‘Traviata’ may not have the uplifting contrast of the big choruses or the intrigue of the sub plots, but its contemporary slant and abundance of wonderful arias make it an enjoyable taster for those unfamiliar with opera.

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

Photography by Bill Knight

Trafalgar Studios

Reviewed – 11th January 2019

★★★★

“there is a period charm, enhanced by Amanda Mascarenhas’ design, the attention to detail of which is faultless”

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Scott Rylander

Coming Clean

Trafalgar Studios until 2nd February

Previously reviewed at this venue:

La Traviata

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 3rd October 2018

★★★★

“artistic lighting creates a snug, clandestine ambience, with resourceful and imaginative scene changes”

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

Photography by Bill Knight

La Traviata

King’s Head Theatre until 27th October

Previously reviewed at this venue;