“The set remains simple and undistracting from the performers’ discussion of love and life”
Jonah (Jonathan Chambers) has already arrived in the chilly Brooklyn Heights townhouse of Claudia (Sandra Dickinson), and is in full charm mode as he attempts to elicit stories of her privileged upbringing and her wealthy sponsorships of artists and poets and other creative people she’s ‘collected’ throughout her life. He is here as a representative of a university which is extremely interested in some work Claudia is rumoured to own. He’s hoping to convince her to allow him to at least view her private art collection so he can try to persuade her to sell it, and then use the money he earns to allow him the freedom to write and live the life he wants.
Right now, as she drifts towards old age, Claudia seems at her most likely to part with her treasures, so evoking nostalgia seems the perfect method to strike a deal. But Claudia hasn’t survived the last few decades by being naive or easily charmed, her enigmatic past may reveal secrets, but her price will include Jonah surrendering many of his own. It’s never quite certain if the sharing of life stories and intimate anecdotes are meant to level the field of negotiations, or create some sort of friendship, but the mutual appreciation falters on more than one occasion despite the whiskey.
This is the European premiere of Keith Bunin’s play and both actors strongly bring his work to life being both confident and convincing onstage. I enjoy the way sassy Claudia can switch between a total lack of regret over events long ago and a more defensive tone regarding other past decisions. The set remains simple and undistracting from the performers’ discussion of love and life in New York. Their affection for the city itself is a small bond, and some of what is symbolises is true of all cities and should strike a note with Londoners.
The show is a ninety minute conversation that the audience is privy to. Both interviewer and interviewee make us laugh and ponder, and piece together two very different lives. Worth a watch.
“Their lack of comfort in certain roles is clear and some dubious accents don’t help”
Ten men weave through each other’s lives – married couples, sauna hookups, monogamists and non-monogamists, sex workers and Grindr meetups – all played by three multi-rolling actors. The interactions cross-sect society – a soldier who insists he isn’t gay and an escort, a bisexual student and his tutor, a porn star and his married lover. Based on Arthur Schnitzler’s at the time scandalous play ‘La Ronde’, Joe DiPietro sets this narrative of sexual encounters in the modern day New York gay scene. ‘F*cking Men’ is an insight into a world of casual sex, financial exchanges and relationships, as its inhabitants search for connection and intimacy.
Bleak for some and hopeful for others this is not a celebration nor a condemnation of this scene. Instead DiPietro seeks to genuinely represent multiple facets of the gay scene and the people who function within it. He succeeds to some extent. Many of the interactions are all too recognisable, but others do fall into the category of stereotype. Whilst ‘La Ronde’ specifically aimed to depict characters across the different levels of society, in the context of this adaptation, DiPietro’s film star character seems out of place and starts a transcension into celebrity that leaves the everyday experience of the gay scene behind.
Richard De Lisle, a member of the original cast and now a current cast member and Associate Director of the production, delivers the standout performance of the evening. He infects each of his characters with believability and is consistently strong as he morphs from role to role. August Ohlsson and Liam Darby are less concrete – both have their stronger characters but unfortunately this means they also have their weaker characters. Their lack of comfort in certain roles is clear and some dubious accents don’t help when creating convincing and rounded characters.
The set consists of wooden boxes that are rearranged and repurposed from scene to scene and out of which emerge costume changes and set dressing. Jack Weir’s lighting design plays a large part in transforming the space and pays close attention to detail, flooding the stage with blue when a television is turned on, for example.
This is a snapshot of a varied and often misrepresented scene, of people searching for moments of connection in a scene often characterised by fleeting hookups, secrecy and non-monogamy, and it is well supported by the strength of De Lisle’s performance and characteristics.
