TWO COME HOME at the King’s Head Theatre

★★★★★

“raw emotion is never far from the surface in this attention grabbing show”

Billed as an exploration of the realities of being gay in an impoverished rural community, ‘Two Come Home’ is a gut-wrenching drama that is a huge credit to its highly talented queer cast and crew.

Previously performed in Brighton, the show has an unmissable four-day run at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington as part of the Camden Fringe Festival. There’s a compelling, raw energy to this piece by Joe Eason which is set on the wrong side of the tracks in small town, deep south America.

The multi-talented Eason also co-stars in his own play and has in addition both designed the show and composed its haunting music. Kirsten Obank-Sharpe’s direction is meticulous, keeping the focus sharp throughout. She is also a member of an on-stage three-piece band, together with Cam Southcott on violin and Elizabeth Cleone Hopland on cello.

Evan’s dad has been jailed for ten years for violent crime. His gay son is clinging to the wreckage of a broken affair that ended a decade earlier. His mum (Nicola Goodchild in a wild performance full of sad energy) is a dysfunctional addict who has never learnt to love him. What happens when Evan’s ex (Ben Maytham) walks back into Evan’s life and will love rekindle in these most desperate of times?

As Philip Larkin famously wrote, ‘they fuck you up, your mum and dad’. Besides the gay love story, there’s an important second narrative here about the failure of familial love. Come what may, raw emotion is never far from the surface in this attention grabbing show. There’s plenty of that strength of feeling in the furiously frustrated language the characters exchange, and there’s wit and poetry too.

Joe Eason’s design is simple and to the point, with some effective lighting adding to the atmosphere generated by the off-key, melancholic score. A highpoint was his voice and guitar rendition of a beautiful song about love lost. The chemistry between the two estranged lovers is electric, helped by intimacy coaching from Marina Cusi Sanchez. James Burton blisters with toxically dangerous energy as Caleb Nicolson.

At the end it’s left to a woman cop (a deft and witty performance by Hannelore Canessa-Wright) to act the Greek chorus and deliver a final message: ‘Just drop the drama! Happiness is a choice’.

I’m not able to report why the playwright chose the American rust bucket setting. This Brokeback vibe has big screen reasonance. The show’s publicity cites its relevance to young audiences. Do similar dramas play out in rural Norfolk or Wales today?

TWO COME HOME at the King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed on 15th August 2024

by David Woodward

Photography by J. R. Dawson

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE PINK LIST | ★★★★ | August 2024

ENG-ER-LAND | ★★★ | July 2024

DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL! | ★★★★ | June 2024

BEATS | ★★★ | April 2024

BREEDING | ★★★★ | March 2024

TURNING THE SCREW | ★★★★ | February 2024

EXHIBITIONISTS | ★★ | January 2024

DIARY OF A GAY DISASTER | ★★★★ | July 2023

THE BLACK CAT | ★★★★★ | March 2023

THE MANNY | ★★★ | January 2023

TWO COME HOME

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★★★★

“There are brilliant nods to The History Boys in this performance, but it feels like a fresh, very current take on those dynamics.”

Three men sit in the welfare office of a prestigious British University. It is never stated whether it is Oxford or Cambridge, but it doesn’t matter, it’s one of the two. There has been an incident of plagiarism and one student, the quintessential lad about town Greg (Charlie Beck) is accused of copying his quiet bisexual peer Casper (Issam Al Ghussain). Bumbling and cringeworthy welfare officer ‘Timby’ (Edward Judge) just wants to show he’s one of the boys – he’s a student too! Laddish showboating, mute resentment and shameless pandering continue as do the reported incidents. But as the severity of the accusations escalates, so too does the complexity and moral confusion of these three characters.

Richard Speir’s direction complements Matt Parvin’s script to create a tense and uncomfortable piece, which subverts and contorts traditional power dynamics and builds a mounting sense of dread. The play is also very funny, especially at the beginning. The first half builds up archetypal characters which the second half breaks down. It could have taken it further, but the moral tangles and muddied sense of right and wrong which the play toys with are fascinating.

All three performers have shining moments. Beck brings emotional depth to the laddish party boy Greg, and his performance is genuinely moving. Al Ghussain has mesmerising physicality, demonstrated particularly in a piece of physical theatre during a dream sequence and a joyous moment of dance. However, the stand-out performance is from Edward Judge as the tragic, and easily swayed welfare officer. There are brilliant nods to The History Boys in this performance, but it feels like a fresh, very current take on those dynamics.

Cecilia Trono’s set is an evocative, naturalistic replica of this kind of office, and the attention to detail transports us there. Will Alder’s lighting design is able to go wild in a nightclub scene and a dream sequence, and Jamie Lu’s sound design becomes particularly interesting in the second half.

The play is not perfect, and there are certainly elements that don’t work. For example, there are repeated references to General Franco’s attitude to gay men, which is not explored in enough detail to make it worth including, and feels like a lack of confidence in the beautiful simplicity of this concept. The best part of this play is the claustrophobic moral mess that these three men are trapped in. However, the idea behind this play, and the way it explores it, is interesting enough to make it recommendable.

TWO COME HOME at the King’s Head Theatre

★★★★★

“raw emotion is never far from the surface in this attention grabbing show”

TWO COME HOME at the King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed on 15th August 2024

by David Woodward

Photography by J. R. Dawson

Previously reviewed at this venue:

TWO COME HOME

TWO COME HOME

GENTLEMEN at the Arcola Theatre

★★★★

“There are brilliant nods to The History Boys in this performance, but it feels like a fresh, very current take on those dynamics.”

GENTLEMEN at the Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 9th October 2023

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Alex Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Gentlemen

Gentlemen