Chris is 18 years old, gay, and in search of fun and attention. Consequently, he spends lots of time and money in gay bars and clubs and fails to get up for work on a regular basis. Kate, his best friend and flatmate, is concerned about Chris’ wellbeing, the cost of his lifestyle, and his frequent inability to pay his share of the rent, as well as some romantic problems of her own. Joey is a coke-addicted rent boy whom Chris meets and becomes besotted with. They start a relationship and eventually Joey moves into the flat. Kate accepts him, largely because he agrees to pay over half the rent. Not surprisingly, the menage-a-trois is not a success. The ensuing disaster forms the rest of the show and comes with related songs and guitar-playing between some of the scenes.
The actors are not without experience or training. What they need is a more focussed show and script
Unfortunately, there is nothing in this play that hasn’t been explored and developed by GCSE drama students many times over. Dan Reeves’ writing contains no surprises, his characters have little depth and the arguments and terms of endearment sound like a script we’ve all heard before. There are several events and issues which affect the development of the relationship between the two guys, but at times these seem overdeveloped at the expense of the main story. By the end, it feels like neither of them have learned much from the affair or this interlude in their lives.
Bethan Francis’ worried Kate is passionate. Jake Flowers as Joey seems to lack the confidence to portray a rent boy and the assertiveness to be a bondage master. Chris, played by writer Dan Reeves, gives a performance that also to lacks sufficient conviction. Between them they are unable to convey the emotional engagement the storyline demands.
The actors are not without experience or training. What they need is a more focussed show and script, along with a director who can bring some critical appraisal to their performances and help them develop what they have achieved so far.
