Cockeyed - Review - 24/05/08

Good story, well told. That's it.

A sort of My Beautiful Laundrette for post-7/7 Britain, Cockeyed is a well constructed and engaging story. In this reading, it was passionately performed by an interesting cast, all with very different styles. The text was in turns funny and poignant, and deserves a full staging.

Richard Bevan, playwright, has written a play that fulfils many of the guiding tenets of modern British playwriting: a series of interlocking stories that come together in a semi-tragic, but still somewhat feel-good ending, drawing on contemporary politics, social issues and modes of communication to give it an edgy and relevant feel. The fact that it does little more than this would be its greatest fault. However, the script does not attempt to do anything necessarily new with the form of theatre, which in some ways is a bit of well deserved respite for audiences who are over-exposed to experimentation.

            Homosexuality and racism (very much in the tradition of the above mentioned My Beautiful Laundrette) are infused with a bit of scaremongering politics centred around terrorism and immigration; casual sex facilitated by the internet, and the inclusion of iPods, give this play a particularly recent feel. At its heart though it is simply a play about relationships, sex, infidelity and intimacy (and the lack of intimacy) that is made somewhat punchier with the inclusion of the storylines regarding racism (featuring the "UK League Party") and inter-racial relationships, heterosexual and homosexual.

            Sympathetically directed by Kfir Yefet, this mostly young cast all held themselves well. Moshana Khan (as Nasreem) as the undervalued wife of Najib (John Nayagam) was probably the most convincing and interesting actor, a position supported by the fact that her occasional full-lung screams were not cringe worthy. Isobel Pravda as Julie, the slightly mentally battered girlfriend of Baretta (a racist with issues about sexual identity) was also extremely watchable, but did not have a full enough role to really come into her own. Baretta, described as a powder keg of a 'wide-boy' at the outset, was probably the most ambiguous and rounded character (though hardly the most sympathetic); the performance by Nicholas Clarke was adequate but failed to find much more than the character presented.

            While this was a reading and not a staged performance, the lack of any physical portrayal of what we were seeing was frustrating. While I understand the limits of a reading, when a stage direction such as "They kiss" is completely ignored it really adds nothing to the performance. While it was clearly a decision made at the outset, and maintained throughout, it was somewhat annoying.

            This is a straightforward play. The contemporary elements are really just window dressing. It benefits from not making any overt political statements, but does have a clear message to tell (can't we all just get along?). Ultimately, though, it is a well told story by a talented writer which got a well deserved showing here. It should be fully staged, and a radical interpretation might bring a whole new aspect to this text. Not revolutionary, not experimental, but worth the watch.

- James Grogan.