All That
Kings Head Theatre • 30 July - 21 August 2021
I have to confess to being something of a fan of Shaun Kitcheners writing, ever since seeing his play Positive in the summer of 2015 at Finsbury Park’s Park Theatre. Since then he has gone on to write a number of episodes for popular Channel Four soap Hollyoaks, but having already made my excuses why I avoid watching any soaps, (to Hollyoaks and Coronation Street director Leon Lopez back in Jack The Lad issue 23) it is his theatre output that remains my only exposure to Kitcheners work thus far. Positive had undergone quite a journey of development by the time I got to see it, having started life as a one act piece in 2013 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. All That has had a similar journey making it’s first appearance at the Lion And Unicorn Theatre in 2017, followed by a run at the Kings Head Theatre in 2018, where it now returns despite having its original opening night postponed as a result of the UK’s current track-and-trace ‘ping-demic’. Thankfully cast and crew made it out of quarantine in time to headline the Kings Head theatre 2021 Queer Season.
The play tells the story of a couple who have been together for ten years and have built a comfortable, if not slightly predictable life together. However, to maintain the lifestyle they have become accustomed to they find themselves having to advertise for lodgers in order to make ends meet. (A scenario that may unfortunately already resonate with this post-Covid, post-furlow audience) Sharing their pristine apartment (a fine job by set designer Delyth Evans) was always going to be a challenge for couple Riley (Chris Jenkins) and Taylor (Jordan Laviniere), but on discovering that their new lodgers Jamie (Imran Adams) and Parker (Matt Greenwood) have a relationship that follows a very different set of guidelines to their own, the initial ideological clash is followed by questions of wether the apartment is the only thing the new lodgers are hoping to share.
Whilst I know plenty of people for who this play will be a fairly uncomfortable watch, as their lifestyle and relationship choices get examined through Kitcheners wry magnifying glass, it’s also true that just about anyone will be able to relate to at least one of the pitfalls that can occur in a modern relationship, and as the story unfolds we watch expectations getting questioned and boundaries getting pushed to breaking point. This is all told through a well crafted script that remains compelling throughout, and allows each member of the four strong cast their individual moment to shine, a welcome progression from the original production where the focus had very much been on Taylors character.
As well as fleshing out his script and giving each character their own expanded story arc, both writer and director James Callas Ball have opened up the narrative to be more authentically representative of our times, including the introduction of two interracial relationships (all four characters having originally been played by white actors in the 2017 production) whilst Parker, (played by Matt Greenwood) is now non-binary, itself opening up a whole new and moving story dynamic for Kitchener to explore. Imran Adams makes a confident stage debut as Parkers partner Jamie, and having coincidently been a member of the Hollyoaks cast has already had the opportunity to bring Kitcheners words to life. Now as Jamie he manages to infuse his character with both a laid back nonchalance, (almost a little too much in places) but when required to do so is also able to unleash a ‘no holds barred’ rage out of nowhere. It’s a dramatic moment matched later in the play by Chris Jenkins who, in Riley’s final heartbreaking scenes, is able to bring home the despair of someone devastated to find his life, love and expectations have all been turned upside down.
All That is a mirror that reflects both the pleasure and potential pitfalls of gay relationships in 2021 and muses, rather than lectures, on questions of internalised homophobia, trust, fidelity, monogamy, polyamory… and even celebrity, and whilst we’d be surprised if you don’t recognise at least one aspect of your own past, (or present) relationship experiences being played out in front of you, Shaun Kitchener’s work is always able to entertain, and All That is no exception. A well observed play, infused with enough laughs to make it an immensely enjoyable watch and a worthy addition to the canon of contemporary queer theatre.
P.S. It’s a damned good poster to!.
★★★★