What would you do if you get home after a wedding and your husband’s ex-boyfriend is naked in your wedding bed? It’s a question few will ever need to answer (we assume) but is the unlikely set up for this hilarious comedy. Produced as part of The King’s Head Theatre’s queer season in it’s wonderfully intimate space it looks at love, relationships and sex and what they mean in the modern world.
The best description we can think of for this is a riotous romp and it reminded me of a Joe Orton play but updated for a modern audience, complete with some gratuitous nudity which was, surprisingly, entirely necessary for the plot. And once Jacob (the-ex) has been found they all need to confront their histories and what that means for their present.
The laughs come thick and fast from the outset and despite a couple of moments where they struggled to maintain the pace generally don’t rest for the full hour. There are some moments of genius in the writing with a few interesting comments on modern life thrown in for good measure (such as “They think we’re Christians, God has co-opted young love”) but it’s not there to preach or be philosophical, they want to make you laugh which they certainly succeed in doing, you can’t fail to be entertained and leave with a smile.
While the cast work well together Rowland Stirling as the apprehensive, indecisive and disconcerted Rob caught at the centre of a potentially awkward love triangle really stands out. His expressive chameleon face truly does speak a thousand words and he relishes the over the top nature of the role. We see a bright future in comedy.
If you want to leave debating the deeper meaning in the story and language then this is probably not for you. If you are looking for a fun night out with plenty of laughs that will pair well with a gin and tonic head over to The Kings Head theatre. We give this 3 Laura Michelle-Kelly stars!
Tickets are available here: https://system.spektrix.com/kingsheadtheatre/website/eventdetails.aspx?WebEventId=matingincaptivity
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