King’s Head Theatre
Reviewed by Adam Craddock
5*****
It’s 2018. The year that the Church of England encouraged Transgender people to join the clergy, the year that gay marriage was finally legalised in Austria and the year that York and Norwich held their biggest ever pride events. But what could quite possibly be the most important thing that happened this year and yet one of the quietest is that 2018 is the year that Guy: a new musical was released. With its messages of accepting everyone for who they are, the real person they are – not the shell on the outside, and its innovative integration of social media and dating apps into a two act musical, Guy is quite simply one of those special shows, an anomaly in the broader world of big budget all singing all dancing shows. And this intimacy and small scale is what makes it so special.
The show follows Guy, a larger build gay man living with all the modern day struggles of life in this social media and technology based climate. After trying to find love through grindr unsuccessfully, he ends up unexpectedly finding it much closer to home with a friend he meets in the gym, Aziz. We follow this growing relationship on a beautiful journey that is not short of an unexpected turn or two. With a beautiful score by Stephen Hyde and a great book by Leoe Mercer this is a show that has all the tools it needs to succeed.
Brendan Mathew gave a sublime performance in the role of Guy, with a beautiful fragility to his performance that really let you in to his feelings and helped you empathise even more than you would think with Guy’s character. He pitched all his dialogue to perfection, showed some brilliant off text work and I have to say… I think this may be one of the most sublime singing voices I have ever heard. Seann Miley-Moore gave a brilliant slow burn performance as Aziz, with a fabulous poppy quality to his singing voice and a very intelligent performance with his real thinker’s part. Well done Seann! Steve Banks performed brilliantly as Tyler and in his other chorus roles. He portrayed a man in crisis when his life started falling apart due to his boyfriend leaving him and what he discovers and in the more comedic ensemble roles… Wow! Banks showed some of the best physical comedy acting that I have ever seen, he was rip roaringly funny and so controlled. Very impressive. Adam Braidley also performed well as Joe/Dom, with very nice vocals and some solid acting.
Basically what I am trying to say is this. Guy: a new musical is one of those once in a blue moon shows, a special piece of theatre that needs to be seen. So get online and grab a ticket while you can because I can guarantee you that this will be something people are talking about for years to come.