Jack Studio Theatre – 5 -9 November 2024
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
Sitting in a hospital waiting room and asked what brought him there, Ryan tells his story to the audience in an intense and emotional monologue. Touring after a successful Edinburgh run, Stephen Leach’s play is fizzing with energy thanks to a brilliant performance from Zach Hawkins.
Ryan is 19 and followed his more successful brother to London. Ben is and accountant and Ryan works for Deliveroo. When he hears that Ben and his fiancée are leaving the city, Ryan realises that there has never really been anything in London for him but must stay to the end of his contract in an awful-sounding flat that he has no hope of subletting.
Cocksure and brash at the beginning of the piece, Leach’s writing cleverly unpicks Ryan’s character as he reveals episodes from his past. Proudly bisexual, he often checks Grindr to see if anyone is nearby and is fed up with older gay men telling him it’s just a phase. When he meets Richard, a business associate of his brother, Ryan thinks he can get some free meals out of the older man, but things eventually take a dark turn.
Under Stephen Leach and Mimi Collins’ intuitive direction, Hawkins hardly ever stands still throughout the production, and when he does, his eyes rake the audience, making contact and drawing you further into Ryan’s life. Hawkins shifting body language as Ryan does impressions of Richard and, cattily, Ben’s girlfriend is wonderful – you can feel the contempt oozing through every pore. When a dark truth about Ryan’s past is mentioned, Hawkins’ face glazes over for a second, and then physically shrugs it off. A picture of a lost and lonely young man hiding behind a mask of bravado and jokes is built, and Ryan’s recollection of a brief Christmas visit to his mother’s house raises a parade of red flags about his father’s relationship with Ben, possibly Ben’s relationship with Ryan, and makes Ryan’s need for rough physical intimacy and older men more tragic.
Joining the toughest gang of bullies kept Ryan safe at school, but being in London makes him realise that only he can keep himself safe – and the play ends with Ryan hopeful and ready to start afresh anywhere but London.
A powerful and smartly written play with a powerhouse performance.