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Heart

 
Alexander Williams Review by Alexander Williams 3 Published: 14 Aug 2024 The Cockpit Show Dates: 12 Aug 2024-13 Aug 2024

Heart, a one man show written and performed by Reece Lewis, is the story of Tyler, an upbeat 24 year old gay black man navigating the challenges of the London queer scene and trying to find love. His parents are separated, and while he has an excellent relationship with his mother, he has a fractious one with his father, a homophobe who is disgusted with his son’s sexuality and embarrassed by him when in front of his football friends.

An engaging, funny and interesting play exploring life from the perspective of a young gay black man

The emotional core of the story is Tyler’s journey towards a stronger relationship with his dad. However, there are a range of other themes which bubble up and set the context in more detail. Who’s included in queer culture, how we create safe spaces and the struggle to achieve self-love all get a look in. The most moving episode for me was Tyler’s engagement with online dating in which he finds himself flattered, insulted, objectified and racially abused in quick succession as he scrolls the profiles.

It’s against this backdrop of a rather menacing dating scene that Tyler’s joyful effervescence shines. From his first bouncing entrance he’s a character defined by energy and optimism, even when the world seems determined to serve him lemons. He takes risks, he dances like no one’s watching and he shakes his tosh with gay abandon, all of which makes him a very endearing character and one with whom you feel immediate rapport.

The difficulty with this one hour play is that there are so many narrative and thematic strands and not enough time to fully explore them. Themes are lifted then dropped, ideas explored then forgotten. The main thrust of Tyler’s haphazard life is certainly there as a running thread, but it’s not enough to create a sense of overall purpose. We have a window into a character’s life but not a fully constructed narrative, as important moments are cut short or rushed through.

There’s also a challenge with some of the language, which is spliced and diced and repeated in a vaguely poetic fashion, a device that felt more confusing than helpful. It may have been an attempt to metaphorically mirror the edited version of Tyler’s life we were watching, but it ended up distancing us from the character rather than offering more insight.

There are lots of faffy costume changes which don’t really add anything to our appreciation of character or plot and just seem a fiddly distraction. But that being said there were some wonderful sound and lighting effects which added a great deal to the atmosphere and humour of the piece.

Taken as a whole, this is engaging, funny and interesting play exploring life from the woefully rare and delightfully uplifting perspective of a young gay black man motivated by confidence, joy and self-love. Lewis describes it as ‘a love letter to all gay men’. I wholeheartedly agree.

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The Blurb:

HEART is a one man show written and performed by myself, Reece Lewis. This is a passion project that is essentially a love letter to all gay men . A story where gay men can see a little piece of themselves within the words and stories and where straight viewers can understand the intimacies of being gay in 2024. The story follows a 24 year old gay man as he struggles to navigate the world of parties, hookups and Grindr. HEART displays all of the best and worst parts about being gay. He wants to be loved deeply and passionately, loves his friends, family and the thought of finding that special someone. But it’s not that simple is it. Not when the world is constantly throwing shit at you. BIRTH OF HEART I decided to write heart after playing ‘Sam’ in NSFW by Lucy Kirkwood at The White Bear Theatre. It was the first run of a play I’ve ever done and I left energised and ready to do more, make more, create and never stop. So I decided to write a show that came from my heart. Something that I would be proud to share with the world. Something that will make people laugh, smile, cry, shout. I wanted to write something that I could connect to very deeply and in turn so would my audience. So every day at 5pm on my way to work and at 5am on my back back home I’d force my eyes open, get my phone out and write. Some of it was great. Some wasn’t so great. But I ended up with a story that I think deserves to live in history. That every person should see. Gay or not. Because HEART is not wholy a gay story. It’s a human story. About love and family and heart ache. It just happens to be told through the eyes of a queer man. It is a beautiful story. THE DREAM I think this story has the potential to become something bigger than it already is. The feedback and response has been extraordinary, so we want to share this story with many more people so that they can join us on this beautiful journey. With all the laughs, cries and joy it brings.