Writer: Nathaniel J Hall (He/They)
Director: Scott Le Crass (He/Him)
Nathanial J Hall, child of the 80s, gay, HIV+ is in love, and living in something fast approaching domestic bliss. The unexpected romance that has grown out of a sweaty warehouse party hook up has surprised and delighted them both. The laughs and the sex are great. And it’s about time things started going right for these two troubled boys who’ve been through some stuff and deserve a break. So you can have it all, right? When the domesticity starts to seem a bit dull and they go looking for a bit of extra excitement, some decisions get made that they’re going to regret.
Hall’s autobiographical play might be an attempt to get some closure on a love affair gone wrong, but, like he says, that’s a lot to ask for in ninety minutes. The truth is, these are the things that shape us and there’s no point wondering how it would have turned out had we done things differently. The thing with a play, he says, is that you can choose how it goes, but that that’s not really that different from life.
Hall’s play treads some old ground as far as the content goes. This is the story of thousands of LGBT+ people who grew up in a time filled with homophobia, stigma and fear and we’ve seen it in theatre, TV, novels and autobiographies. We have friends who’ve lived it. Maybe it’s our own story. But every re-telling is unique because of the person telling it, and Hall’s version, while full of hurt, is an honest and ultimately positive one. He tells of the ups and downs of a deeply devoted relationship with confidence and tenderness.
On a tiny set (Lu Herbert) that feels cosy when things are going great and horribly claustrophobic when it all starts to go wrong, Toxic has a bit of everything – dance and movement (Plaster Cast) poetry, a fitting soundtrack (SHAR) and nicely utilised projections (././dede). While there’s lots to like here, it doesn’t all quite fit together. The poetry seems a bit out of place and superfluous, as does some of the movement work. Cutting some of this would make for a tighter, shorter show that would avoid the occasional, and disrupting, slackening of pace.
Nathanial J Hall (The Playwright) and Josh-Susan Enright (the Performer) are, though, compelling performers. While the couple party hard (the clubbing and sex scenes are equally spirited), there’s a sensitive, naïve charm in the relationship and a convincingly inseparable bond that makes the slow and painful break up hard to watch.
It has taken a few years for HOME’s theatre programme to establish a distinctive quality, but with the Theatre 2 Autumn 2023 Season the venue seems to have found its place in the city’s performance scene. Toxic is part of a season of story-telling performance exploring ‘nationality, identity, belonging, new beginning, home and sanctuary’, and it’s a good example of home-grown and well-crafted theatre.
Runs until 28 October 2023
The Reviews Hub Score
well-crafted
