Seven Dials Playhouse, London – until 11th November 2023
Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith
3***
Jock Night, written and directed by Adam Zane is a frank and funny tale of five revellers at the afterparties of four Jock Nights in Manchester’s gay village. Forty-something Ben (David Paisley) plays host to younger party boys Kam, Russell and AJ as they navigate the world of relationships, chemsex, and HIV. Within minutes of the play starting there’s a Victoria Wood joke and reference to Coronation Street, two camp Manchester icons. Kam (Sam Goodchild) is the life and soul of the party, “fabulous and undetectable” as he says himself, and Russ (Matthew Gent) is lovely, slightly dim gym bunny, hanging on Kam’s every word. Enter AJ (Levi Payne), fresh off the bus from Doncaster, sweetly naive about the world but here for a good time. And a good time they all have.
Written in response to the NHS refusing to fully fund PrEP (a drug proven to prevent the contracting of HIV), almost all the play is based on real events. During the first act we learn about their relationships to dating apps, drugs, sex, and each other. There are moments of hilarity and lucidity, before they take another timed swig of GHB and the room swirls and bends with bodies and music. There is chat of a local porn performer (not star) they all know of called Hunter (George Hughes) who appears in one of their Grindr inboxes. Hunter aka Simon is like a whirlwind of semi celebrity, appearing to want a simpler life with Ben, but there are darker undertones of addiction present. As the dates change, shadowy figures on stage rearrange the scene, like you’re watching something happen on fast forward, and the ever present Alexa (now a common addition in plays set in contemporary life) calls out the days as they go by. The second act is darker, as lives start to spin out of control and relationships fray. A lot of topics are covered from HIV, being undetectable, the importance of taking PrEP and getting checked, and being a good family member, chosen or otherwise. The whole play is performed in Ben’s bedroom, designed by Dick Longin, and it is perfect in it’s decor and use of props, including several different jock straps and harnesses worn throughout.
The characters are solid, and the pacing is good. It’s a strong ensemble piece, but then it has to be with the content of the play. Much of the humour comes from Sam Goodchild and Matthew Gent as Kam and Russ respectively, while Levi Payne is sweet in his portrayal of AJ. There is an honesty and trust to their portrayals that makes the characters believable. The lived experience of lives on which Jock Night is based ever present in the background.
Jock Night is funny, sad, heart warming, heartbreaking, and most importantly informative. I came away thinking about how I could be a better friend, family member, and ally. I also came away thinking a lot about jock straps.
