The Old Red Lion 31 May – 26 June. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
Newly promoted to the Rugby Premiership, Chiltern Colts and their star fly half James Hall suddenly become newsworthy. So when he is outed by an ex-boyfriend, the media frenzy and reactions of his team mates have a devastating impact on James. Within days, the fans even have a chant for him – much to his bemusement. Odd Shaped Balls follows James as he (and the club) tries to come to terms with his sexuality and deals with the fear that he may not be able to play his beloved rugby again.
Richard D. Sheridan’s writing is sincere and emotional, and Matthew Marrs plays all the characters with great skill and commitment. The fact that there are so many characters does dilute the impact of the play somewhat, especially in the scene where James tells his girlfriend about his gay relationship. Marrs has such an expressive face, but we only see quick flickers of reactions as he switches between the characters of Claire and James, where each character deserves longer moments.
The laughs are provided by the characters in the rugby club, and from personal experience, these are extremely well observed. Marrs gets to wheel out his accents as well-meaning coach Aidan, macho captain Matt and Jonesy, the Welshman with a long list of VERY inappropriate questions and suggestions (a good attempt that went down well with the people from East of Offa’s Dyke, but tended to lapse into Bristolian at times).
The awkward reactions of James’ parents were written beautifully, and James’ bewildered responses were realistic and effective, often followed by a moment of quiet, but all too often the pace is relentless and the play proceeds like a runaway train, where a slower, more even pace was needed.
Marrs manages the character transitions brilliantly, and manages to make you care about James. The fact that the play doesn’t wrap things up neatly is appropriate as sport attempts to become more diverse and accepting, hindered by press and social media fascination with the personal lives of stars, and there are no easy solutions.
The finely detailed set is a triumph and the lighting design is well thought out and subtle. It just seemed that this one-man play might be made richer and more well rounded with one or two extra cast members.