It is very understandable why the producers of Kevin Elyot’s Coming Clean regularly revive this play; it is an important piece. The characters are witty and well formed and the story resonates now as much as when Elyot first wrote it in 1982.
The cast headed by Lee Knight as Tony, Elliot Hadley as William and Jurgen and Stanton Plummer-Cambridge as Greg are all reprising their roles and are now joined by Jonah Rzeskiewicz as Robert. The actors are so in sync with their material. All deliver a superb script bouncing off each other with exceptional timing and via very tight direction by Adam Spreadbury-Maher the ‘soap opera’ quality to the play is executed with a flourish and flair that also highlights the comedy gold elements of the play.
Coming Clean is about male attraction, relationship dependency, lust, betrayal and the realisation of self worth which Elyot as a writer was simply superb at examining. The high quality dialogue of the set pieces is extraordinary, plausible and totally believable especially as the tension builds between Greg and Tony.
The pace of the play is also beautifully played out with the use of clever mood lighting by Nic Farman and carefully selected pop and classical music that reinforces the play’s content. This is a first rate look at living a gay lifestyle when faced with a problem friendship. Bravo to all concerned.
Photos by Ali Wright
*****
Coming Clean runs to Sunday 2nd February at Trafalgar Studios 2, 14 Whitehall Westminster, London SW1A 2DY. Box office: 0844 871 7632 atgtickets.com
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