Folkteatern - December 3. John has been in a problematic relationship with his boyfriend for several years. He decides to end it and has an affair with a woman. It all turns into a love story and the projection of a happy-ever-after couple with vacations in Paris and children to be around when the two of them will grow old. Everything happens fast and John gets confused so he seeks answers from what was old and familiar - his ex-boyfriend.
The ex-boyfriend, an inflammable character, starts quarrelling immediately and in the end decides to invite John and the woman for dinner to clear things up. He calls his father as well, so that he can have somebody to back him up. It is time for John to decide now. Who is he? Whom will he choose?
In such a situation Mike Bartlett wraps the problem of identity in the play named "Cock". The story is a mélange of irony, humor, ridiculousness, love and sexuality all in a contemporary setting. All the drama in people's lives is expressed through a spicy powerful dialogue. Behind the veil of sexuality lay deeper problems of today's individuals: loneliness, confusion, unhappiness and inability to make decisions.
The words, the dialogue made the story vivid and meaningful. The characters evolved on an empty floor which made their talk even more thoughtful. Their continuous movement inside a white square and short dark moments covered by sound maintained a good pace and kept up the attention. There was no need for scenery when everything has been said through words, when the world nowadays is just an empty stage where individuals walk lonely and confused. Simple and symbolic setting, classy performance!
John's identity crisis and the decision he has to make reflects not only problems of sexuality but also the difficulty of making a choice. It is not easy to label something, or worse, yourself when the world offers plenty of possibilities. The difference between John's two options is not just the sex of his partner but the projection of his future. It is definitely worth seeing how the weak and confused character John deals with the situation and what decision he finally makes.
Writer - Mike Bartlett
Director - George Costigan
Cast - Ben Warwick (John), Kristina Brändén Whitaker (woman/girlfriend), Gary Whitaker (man/boyfriend), George Costigan (father)
Related article2010-04-21 10:44
Contractions: review 
