Lyric Theatre – until 30 September 2023
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
5*****
Declan Bennett’s autobiographical show is a harrowing and soul-baring, but very funny, performance about loneliness in lockdown. A romantic idea of leaving London for a quiet life in the country with his boyfriend turns into Declan’s worst nightmare when his boyfriend must relocate for a few months to New York for an acting job, followed shortly after by Covid lockdown.
As he finds himself unable to write, Declan is left in a spiralling routine of baking, drinking and sleeping as his memories swirl around him whiles he struggles to cope with his loneliness. Elderly neighbour Anne seems to be his only contact to the rest of the world – and there’s only so much banana bread she can eat!
Bennett’s physicality is as exhilarating and honest as his writing as he jumps back and forth between childhood memories – his carefree friendship and shared loves with Siobhan that are cruelly squashed as he progresses through school and has to change to survive, the confusion and conflict of being gay and being raised in a devoutly Catholic Irish family – the freedom and joy of finally being himself in London, and his cancer diagnosis as he unravels alone in his cottage.
Co-creator and director Nancy Sullivan’s light touch and Bennett’s magnificent acting produce something unique – at times it feels uncomfortably like you are intruding on a therapy session before swerving back to jokey performance. It is wonderful, and very rare, to be caught off guard so often watching a play. Reuben Speed’s set – the bare bones of Declan’s cottage that he holds in his memory – Alex Lewer’s lighting and Max Pappenheim’s sound design all work beautifully to turn a warm and cosy cottage into a hellishly claustrophobic cell and enhance the performance without becoming gimmicky.
An extraordinary performance of a searingly exposing and revealing piece of writing – Declan Bennett’s Boy Out The City is a must see.