Writer: Mike Bartlett
Director: Rupert Hill
If nothing else the name of Mike Bartlett’s play, originally staged at the Royal Court in 2009, is a head turner. Following it’s Northern premier back in November 2024, HER Productions and Up Ere Productions revive the tale of John (Callum Ravden), a man stricken as he finds himself choosing between his boyfriend of seven years (John O’Neill) and a woman he meets on his London Underground commute (Hannah Ellis Ryan).
It’ll come as no surprise that Cock is not one for the prudish. Erections, vaginas and orgasms abound in this no holds barred examination of the complex interaction between sexuality and identity. Ravden’s John is a tortured soul, paralysed by the force of his carnal and emotional desires which present themselves at odds with his perceived ideas of stability and identity. Hounded at all sides, in becoming seemingly sexually liberated, John finds himself a prisoner of his own indecision and anxiety.
Bartlett’s script is a wonderfully riotous ride of painful awkwardness, acerbic wit and raw angst presented with talent and dynamic energy by the cast. Sadly where this production is hampered irreparably is in its direction. As in the 2009 London premiere, the production is fully stripped back; no props, no costume changes, just actors on stage in a black box theatre. With nothing onstage but the actors, Bartlett’s words take centre stage, yet the script is rattled off at a rate of knots which obliterates any nuance or complexity of meaning. Jokes aren’t left to land and moments of reflection are swiftly engulfed as the play gallops along leaving no room to breathe.
This production of Cock has the air of a rehearsed reading taking place in a room that has to be vacated promptly on the hour. A trampled script that leaves you feeling short changed and exhausted.
Runs until 7 June 2025
