46 Beacon Review
It’s a hotel room in Boston in the early 1970’s. Robert (Jay Taylor) is a British actor jump-starting his career by taking advantage of his cut-glass accent and doing some work stateside. Alan (Oliver Coopersmith) is a young member of the front-of-house staff that has caught his eye- and is coming around for a gin and tonic. 46 Beacon examines what happens between them in one evening.Writer, Bill Rosenfield, says: “the play came out of my need to express just how far and fast Gay politics had progressed, in a touching but, I hope, also humorous way, and I am really excited to bring it to a wider London audience”. This reminded me of the 1960’s rallying cry ‘the personal is political’. Alan and Robert don’t talk politics (much), but they are clear in the limited options of the private lives, the closed options, and the need to carve out spaces for self expression.
Rosenfield’s choice of letting Robert dominate the script (initially) and encouraging the audience to view his younger self as an outsider gives us a more critical but also more compassionate stance. In a way, it reminded me a lot of those ‘letters to my younger self’. A lot of the comedy comes from Coopersmith’s well-observed gaucheness and Taylor’s deftly delivered put downs and deflections- both of which elicited many pained laughs of recognition.Gradually, the narrative expands beyond this as the characters come to know more about themselves and each other, and new power dynamics emerge. Taylor and Coopersmith have excellent rapport and deliver a challenging script with precision, feeling and tact. The dialogue preserves a careful balance between the quick, sharp and accelerating exchanges and long, tense pauses. There are careful shifts in tone between small talk, verbal fencing, and tentative mating dance.
In case you weren’t sure: This is a gay play. Not bit-part, cuddly comedy gayness as part of an ensemble gay or retro implied ‘Tennessee Williams’-style gay: gay sex gay. It’s very much about two men in a hotel room and what for one of them marks an important coming-of-age. Gay sex acts are discussed, and the age difference between the two characters is significant. There are parts that may make you uncomfortable- but good theatre should sometimes do that. There’s nudity, but it’s not gratuitous and it’s relevant to the plot and mood. It’s based on the author’s memories, and the morality of characters (sometimes flawed) decisions are examined without condoning or condemning them. It’s thoughtful, real, poignant and forgiving.
It’s a (very) small theatre in a central location so I’d recommend grabbing your tickets well in advance.
Reporter: David Brown
What: 46 BEACON
Where: Trafalgar Studios 2, 14 Whitehall, Westminster, SW1A 2DY
When: 5 APRIL – 29 APRIL 2017 Monday – Saturday at 7.45pm;Thursday & Saturday at 3.00pm
How long: 83 minutes- no intermission, no readmission
How much: £15-30
