The poster for Perfume Productions presentation of this new play by Matt Harris is one of the most eye-catching and provocative, asking Have You Been To A Male Prostitute? Im assuming that not all of the audience had, but should they be considering it, this tale of revenge and brutality just might make them consider stopping home with a video and a hot milky drink.
Alister Bartons Jack has fallen into prostitution at a very young age. As the play begins he has someone trapped in a cupboard at his flat, and the tale that unfurls makes us fear for whoever that is. Barton is menacing and sympathetic by turns as he tells us what is essentially his life story from deprived childhood to being trapped in his present situation. Preece Killick plays a string of clients Jack has encountered in the past, skilfully delineating each one and presumably exhausting himself backstage doing the fast and furious costume changes.
Harriss script takes us into the motives of all these men for visiting a rent boy which is fascinating as they are all such different types the married man with kids, the priest, the guy who wants to play at being a toff. Phil Setrens direction cranks up the tension, and makes the most of what, for two actors, is a huge space by Edinburgh standards. The stage sex is pretty convincing, and the violence frightingly so, especially when we find out exactly why there is someone in the cupboard and what Jacks plans are for him.
My main criticism is that we get the idea that Jack is pretty fucked up very early on, so there isnt as much of a journey for him to go on as there might have been. Were not exactly expecting a happy ending. All of the clients who visit him seem to turn nasty or violent to him after sex, which doesnt ring true, but serves the direction the plot is heading. /as a whole it could have benefited from being ten minutes shorter, especially as Harris is a stylish writer, often lyrical and moving, and the less is more principle would benefit actors and audience alike.
Still, one of the more eye-opening productions you will see on the fringe this year.
