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The MP, Aunty Mandy & Me proves an insightful and fascinating one-man present on the King’s Head Theatre
“It’s not him I’m worried about”
As the possessor of an precise Aunty Mandy (*waves*, it’s been too lengthy…), how may I resist a play entitled The MP, Aunty Mandy & Me? And now that I do know what Aunty Mandy stands for on this context, I can’t assist however really feel barely grubby and sorry that I introduced her up 😂 (disco biscuits by one other euphemism). I’m not sorry that I caught this one-man present although, author/performer Rob Ward arising with a deliciously complicated story of a younger homosexual man’s awakening.
Our protagonist is Dom (by identify, if not by nature), a would-be Instagay influencer stymied solely by dwelling in a close-knit northern village, along with his mum, struggling panic assaults, and being a fan of steam trains. He’s acquired the nous to attempt to move off a Matalan swimsuit as a Paul Smith one however his crippling social nervousness means journeys to the large metropolis, with the “real gays”, really feel like a far-off dream. An encounter with a neighborhood MP modifications all that, as an internship attracts him out of his shell, however politicians being who they’re (for probably the most half, it might appear), it’s a baptism of fireplace into this new world.
Though The MP, Aunty Mandy & Me clearly offers with some weighty material, it’s also a delightfully witty character research. Affectionately riffing on the ‘regional gay’ trope, Ward has enjoyable in fleshing out Dom’s character quirks while concurrently pointing up that the longed-for metropolitan homosexual life-style isn’t all the time the wisest factor to aspire to. An analogous pleasing complexity accompanies Dom’s ostensibly problematic relationship with MP Peter.
The unequal energy dynamic each when it comes to employment and (homosexual) training signifies that there’s an inevitable trace of sleaze at play right here. But as Dom is launched to the world of fetish golf equipment and the probabilities of precise romance now his horizons have been expanded, there’s additionally this notion of the advantages of gaining expertise, classes to be realized from the tough and the graceful as Ward proves unafraid to deal with an genuine tackle homosexual subculture.
Clive Judd’s thought-about course actually helps to nail that sense of authenticity, the emotional openness that may are available in attempting one thing new, the scrumptious disorientation of taking one thing new, the consolation that is available in discovering a group. Will Monks’ lighting design is beautifully wrought, really transportative on the restricted stage right here and the cumulative artistic impact is one which enhances the storytelling no finish. Insightful and fascinating.