“Some things are hard to say”
Somewhat appropriately, this 20
th anniversary production of
Beautiful Thing arrives in London just as a writer, who is carrying much of
Jonathan Harvey’s legacy in giving life to a rich tapestry of diverse gay characters,
has just closed his own gently touching play of young gay romance
Jumpers for Goalposts (look out for its UK tour in the autumn). In the 20 years since Harvey
put pen to paper, there have been significant legal, cultural and social
changes so that gratefully, we are now in a world where many aspects of being
gay are indeed easier. But at the same time, we should not forget that the
battle is far from being won – there’s a constant struggle against fear,
prejudice, violence, that should never be underestimated, no matter how many ‘gay
plays’ may appear in our theatres.
What makes Harvey’s play so special is that it represents one of the first times in which gay characters took centre stage in a play that wasn’t particularly issue-driven and instead, serves up a straight love story (badumtish). Ste and Jamie are two regular working-class South London lads,
everyday schoolboys living next door to each other and over the passage of a
hot summer, finding that they’ve an awful lot more in common than they ever
realised. And that’s essentially the sum of it: ostensibly a ‘gentle’ topic,
but the slow but steady discovery of their sexuality and what that is going to
mean for their futures, and the worlds of emotion that can accompany the
decision to come out are huge, potentially life-changing matters and it is
Harvey’s sensitive but assured handling of this that makes Beautiful Thing the
timeless success that it is and will continue to be for at least another 20
years more.
But to the production at hand. Nikolai Foster captures much of the delicate innocent
magic of the writing through some excellent casting choices. Jake Davies and
Danny-Boy Hatchard are just gorgeously right as the teenage lovers, the former’s
Jamie refreshingly appealing in his geekiness and the latter’s Jamie a
fantastic stage debut with a nuanced understanding of the trauma that
accompanies difficult family relationships, whether that violence is physical
or emotional. The understated way in which both these actors portray their
burgeoning connection has its own quiet power but the other characters of the
play also add another dimension and a distinctive colour.
Suranne Jones’ fiercely protective mother Sandra prowls with an instinctive wit,
she is armed with some cracking one-liners mostly aimed at Zaraah Abrahams’
neighbour Leah, a school dropout with an amusing Mama Cass fixation and an
equally engaging bolshiness. And Jones and Abrahams are so good that one is
left here wishing that we could explore a bit more of their characters, not
least through the fascinating dynamic behind their sparring. Oliver Farnworth’s
Tony, Sandra’s lover, sure looks good but is by far the least developed of the
roles and doesn’t always feel as comfortable a fit in the role as he could.
Colin Richmond’s set looks good in forming the council estate backdrop to the
story, my only real problem came with the choice of venue – the Arts Theatre
isn’t particularly well suited to the telling of such tenderly intimate stories
and so I wouldn’t recommend buying tickets too far back in the theatre or in
the circle if at all possible. But I would recommend buying them, to witness some
of the tenderest performances and one of the funniest scripts in London and to
see not just an important representation of the genuine scope not just of sexuality
but also of class that makes up our country.
Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes (with interval)
Booking until 25th May
Labels: Danny-Boy Hatchard, Jake Davies, Jonathan Harvey, Oliver Farnworth, Suranne Jones, Zaraah Abrahams
