Looking For Fun?
Theatre503 • 22 Jan - 24 Jan
It’s often said that art is seldom finished, it is merely abandoned, but having first seen Looking For Fun? during its original outing at the old Kings Head Theatre venue in 2022, it’s fair to say that actor and playwright Conor O’Cuinn has far from abandoned his debut play, it having grown in both structure and staging over the intervening years to return in a revised form for a short 3 day run at London’s Theatre503. However, given that the world of ‘online hookups, queer identity and the pursuit of connection in an age of instant gratification’ is a subject queer theatre hasn’t exactly shied away from over the intervening years, I was interested to see if O’Cuinns play could still feel as fresh and challenging a watch as it did in 2022 as I once again witness the main character find his life unravel due to a spiralling addiction to dating apps and one night stands. (See original review here)
Directed by Tazy Harrison-Moore, one of the more noticeable changes in this version is the stage design, as rather than just letting the lighting do all the visual heavy lifting in this black-box pub theatre space, which it should be said had had actually been done to great effect at the old Kings Head location, all three of the Theatre503 stage walls had been lined top-to-bottom with thin, clear, plastic sheeting, (think how fictional serial killer Dexter’s garage might have looked before a kill), with the floor covered in a highly reflective foil-like material. Coldly lit at the plays opening the stage sets an ominous tone, (albeit with a feint whiff of ‘D.I.Y.’), but it’s simplicity is deceiving given that, as the play progresses, it becomes the distressed backdrop for some newly filmed live action video segments that are projected onto it which, used as sparingly as they are, provide some nice visual punctuation to the narrative alongside some projected Grindr conversations. This now surprisingly versatile set is also used to add some more depth and texture to Freya Games lighting design this time around, with it’s final use being something upon which O’Cuinns character (still only referred to as his Grindr hook-up name, ‘lookingforfun’) can finally take out his anger, giving the play one of several moments of expressive physicality.
At odds to this, O’Cuinn is at other times left strangely exposed on stage, which is not a problem when, as in the plays opening, he shows his skills as both writer and actor with an ability to frenetically play a conversation between two characters whilst simultaneously being able to break out of both roles in order to give some added narration to the audience… not a particularly easy process to pull off, but it’s here that O’Cuinn shines brightest and is definitely at his most engaging. As the play continues however, other subsidiary characters are voiced by use of some pre-recorded audio segments, their cold anonymous voices leaving O’Cuinn with little more to do than rather more passively react. The passing of time has left me unsure if this was quite as prevalent in the previous version I saw, but here I found it had a tendency to momentarily rob the play of its energy. Whilst it would understandably be a tall order for O’Cuinn to voice all the characters continuously throughout this 65min play, I couldn’t help thinking a two-hander might have been a better way to re-examine his play for this latest iteration, providing him with something more tangible to play against, especially during the less dramatic, verbal-only intercourse with both his long suffering best friend and his equally patient sexual health worker, an approach that might have further heightened the disturbing anonymity of the increasing hook-ups in his quest to find a more meaningful relationship.
All of this being said, some well-placed expressive choreography picks up the pace again, and O’Cuinn certainly has no problem showcasing his characters vulnerability in these moments of more expressive movement, helping the audience’s empathy grow stronger as the situation he finds himself in becomes increasingly dark.
Ultimately, despite having a good idea what to expect, having seen Looking For Fun? in it’s earlier iteration, the play still had the power to be a moving experience, and in this revised version of his debut play Conor O’Cuinn once again confirms that he has a keen ear for dialogue as a writer and the ability to perform those words in a captivating and engaging way as an actor. Having already been impressed by this skill-set I am definitely looking forward to seeing what he chooses to focus this talent on next.
★★★★
review: Simon J. Webb