★★½

“tackles some fascinating and thorny issues revolving around queer relationships, but its execution is shallow”

Question: ‘Did you ever sleep with anyone else, during the 7 (and a half) years we were together?’

Answer: I hated A Little Life

End Scene

What? That’s not profund? It just makes no sense.

Jake Brunger’s Four Play, as the name suggests, is about the colliding sex lives of gay couple, Rafe (Lewis Cornay) and Pete (Zheng Xi Yong), with Michael (Daniel Bravo)– the ‘hot one’ – and his partner, Andy (Jo Foster). It opens with Rafe and Pete propositioning Michael to sleep with both of them individually, so they can experience sex with other men, having only ever been monogamous with each other. Psst, don’t tell Andy.

Directed by Jack Sain, Four Play’s first act is promising, especially the allure of the opening sequence, in which the three men dance about with exercise balls. Michael quickly agrees to the proposal of one-time sex, and the play follows the devolution of the intertwined relationships between the four.

The second act, however, disintegrated more dramatically than any of the relationships. The primary diagnosis for Four Play is bad writing. Filtered through cliché, the characters are undeveloped which makes it near impossible to provoke interest in their sex lives and their secret liaisons. I don’t take pleasure in devaluing a play that confronts stereotypes about gay men, but this piece felt symptomatic of some of the most depressing facets of our epoch. Though there is ostensible exploration of the emotional tangle of queer open relationships, Andy – supposedly the injured party – is vapid and uncritical, cloaking ignorance with some worthy diatribe against the apparent pretentiousness of liking Ottolenghi and Chablis. That is one of the alarming facets: anti-pretentiousness. Anti-pretentiousness, in this case, is just anti-intellectualism promenading as social commentary.

The actors do their best with the material. Foster is spritely and contrasts well with Bravo’s aloof composure. Cornay is endearing in his awkwardness, also in contrast to the corporate soullessness of Pete. Set and costume design (Peiyao Wang) are highlights, especially Foster’s outfits. The interior décor is suitably chic and modern, complementing the piece’s tone.

The overriding message of the play, Brunger holds, is to respect your partner and always be honest. But there is no plausible redemptive arc for these characters, and they all remain objectionable. The relationships felt symptomatic of our societal objection to feeling and to difficult emotion in the name of ‘protecting our peace’. Not one of these characters have an engaged conversation: they just talk at each other and leave. No one is changed by the end.

Theatre doesn’t have to be radical or revolutionary, but it should be observational in some way; usually, it observes convention from an unconventional lens – in this case, we have sex, monogamy, and ‘modern’ relationships from a non-heteronormative lens. But it lacks nuance. The rusting away of a woman’s ovaries is casually dropped for humour; Hitler and Nazi uniforms as a kink are mentioned in poor taste; metaphors obscure rather than elucidate. At one point, Andy, with lustre, says ‘Spiders are scary. Terrorism is scary. Cancer is really scary. Monogamy?’ As if monogamy could only be held in opposition to these three wildly divergent examples of scariness and thus be deemed unscary. But monogamy can – and perhaps should – be intimidating, and that’s a fascinating discourse in itself, not to be undermined.

Four Play tackles some fascinating and thorny issues revolving around queer relationships, but its execution is shallow.

FOREVERLAND at Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★★★

“a gorgeously heartfelt and intimate story”

Most of us have a gut reaction to the question ‘Would you like to live forever?’ But once it subsides, we discover that it is impossible to answer. The quandary is as old as life itself: nobody wants to die, but nobody wants to live forever either.

The recent progress in genetic research has allowed scientists to discover ways of slowing down the ageing process. Without trying to go into detail (and thereby revealing the extent of my ignorance) it has something to do with cellular reprogramming and altering molecules that turn DNA on and off. A bit like restarting a computer. It works on worms. And mice. This is science fact. Enabling humans to live forever may still be science fiction, but only for about another decade, according to Emma Hemingford’s stylish and imaginative new play “Foreverland”.

There is the danger that tackling such a subject can lead to a rather dull essay involving the characters discussing abstract concepts. But Hemingford avoids all the potential clichés and truisms, and instead weaves the complexities and conundrums into a gorgeously heartfelt and intimate story. One that centres on a romantic relationship that is instantly recognisable and relatable.

Jay (Christopher York) and Alice (Emma McDonald) are a couple in their thirties, about to embark on treatment to prolong their lives – perhaps indefinitely. It is a fairly risk-free surgical procedure, but pre-op nerves are kicking in. The treatment is irreversible. But there is a ‘get out’ clause later down the line. Both York and McDonald capture this essence perfectly in the opening scene, with humour and poignancy. Aided by Valerie Antwi’s deliciously cool and mockingly sympathetic Doctor Lane, we get a clear insight into the bonds, and the cracks, in their marriage; along with subtle, almost invisible, hints as to how the drama might unfold.

Director Frederick Wienand guides the play’s characters through specific leaps in time with effortless artistry. We fast forward a few years in a matter of seconds; scene changes flashing before us indicated by the performers’ evolving mannerisms and inflections, like the rapidly moving hands of the clock. Except in Jay and Alice’s world, the pressure of the clock has gone. The performances are captivating as the couple navigate their journey towards immortality. Is it idyllic or terrifying? In their own way, York and McDonald explore what having unlimited time does to them psychologically. Jay and Alice soon have a daughter (the wonderfully natural and dynamic Emily Butler), who soon grows up into the radical adult who questions her parent’s choices (Una Byrne). What does the promise of unlimited time mean for the world; socially, ethically, and politically? Byrne’s fiery influence not only shakes up the onstage characters, but it urges us all to take stock and consider our own views.

“Foreverland” can be seen as a parable for our time. One that goes far deeper than the ‘be-careful-what-you-wish-for’ résumé. We suddenly find ourselves in uncomfortable territory. Immortality, it seems, is only for the privileged. Progress only happens when people die. Big topics, but the writing condenses them into human emotions and domestic quibbles that resonate on a personal level. Not every emotion rings true, and there are a couple of moments when we are not sure what informs their decisions, but the performances remain powerful – right through to the heart-wrenching final scene. The silence that hovers above the audience reflects the stillness of the closing dialogue. Like the pause before the next heartbeat. There is one final choice to make.

Part fairy-tale, part docudrama, part sci-fi, part kitchen-sink, part love story, part comedy, part dystopia; but fully engaging, gripping, intelligent and funny. A fresh and intriguing take on one of mankind’s oldest obsessions. You might think you have all the time in the world, but don’t leave it too long to see this show.

FOUR PLAY

King’s Head Theatre

★★½

“tackles some fascinating and thorny issues revolving around queer relationships, but its execution is shallow”

FOUR PLAY

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed on 16th July 2025

by Violet Howson

Photography by Jack Sain

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

FOUR PLAY

FOUR PLAY

FOUR PLAY

FOREVERLAND at Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★★★

“a gorgeously heartfelt and intimate story”

FOREVERLAND at Southwark Playhouse Borough

Reviewed on 4th October 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Charlie Lyne

Previously reviewed at Southwark Playhouse venues:

FOREVERLAND

FOREVERLAND

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