The Convert
Above The Stag • 8 June - 3 July 2022
Taking my seat alongside the rest of the audience at London’s Above The Stag theatre for The Convert by Ben Kavanagh, we were transported to a ‘correction’ facility during an unspecified time in the not-to-distant future, a transition made easy by the impressive set (David Shields), lighting, (Joseph Ed Thomas) and wonderfully immersive sound design (Paul Gavin)… this all being before the play has even started! It is here that Alix (Nick Mower) and his room/cell mate Marcus (Sam Goodchild) have been brought to be ‘cured’ of their homosexuality by whatever means their therapy arbiter (Ben Kavanagh) see’s fit. Of course, we don’t have to look to the future to discover just how real the ongoing practice of conversion therapy is, it having somehow managed to stick around since 1899, a potted history of which is displayed on a large, futuristic, multiscreen display as we enter the auditorium, (and is well worth paying some attention to before the play starts). This screen goes on to become an integral addition to the overall set design, and is used to great effect throughout the play, (more impressive video design work by George Reeve), but it’s these initial hard, and often disturbing facts being displayed that provide the foundation upon which Kavanagh’s story builds. “One moment it’s legal… then it’s illegal” says Alix of his sexuality, clearly shocked by an unspecified turn of events that has made homosexuality illegal and left him confused and scared in this hellish version of the future.
Although the UK recently partially banned conversion therapy, (the legislation currently excluding the transgender community), setting this story in a dark dystopian future serves as a stark reminder that it is not beyond the realms of possibility that many of the LGBTQ+ communities successful battles could one day be overturned. There are still those who would not only be happy to see conversion therapy allowed to continue, but also prefer homosexuality be made illegal again, (which, it’s worth noting, it still is in 71 Countries, 11 of which also carry the death penalty). Suddenly the picture that this play paints doesn’t seem quite so far fetched, especially when, as recently as last week, Texas pastor Dillon Awes told his congregation that “the "solution for the homosexual in 2022" is the death penalty, and that we should be “lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head.” With such disturbing rhetoric still making headlines, The Convert comes as much as a timely warning as it does a dark satire, and given this somewhat sobering subject matter it would be remiss of me to say I ’enjoyed’ this play. I was, however, totally gripped by the story that unfolded in front of me, fully emotionally engaged with the central characters plight and impressed by the scale and vision of this production. What it obviously lacks in laughs it more than makes up for in ‘heart’, which is in no small measure down to Nick Mower’s outstanding performance as Alix, a real triumph given that The Convert marks his professional stage debut and, under the direction of Gene David Kirk, is a performance that stays with you long after the show has ended.
There was actually much in the mood created by Kavanagh’s play that reminded me of the iconic sixties TV series The Prisoner. For those of you even old enough to remember the series, the dynamic between the unnamed head of ‘The Village’, known only as Number Two, and Patrick McGoohan’s character ’Number Six’ is not without parallels to the relationship we see between Alix and the also unnamed arbiter of ‘The Facility’. Also, like Number 6, Alix is in a disturbingly mysterious surrounding, there being no clear indication of where he is or how he got there, but it’s where he now finds himself subjected to relentlessly harrowing psychological mind games in order to get him to comply to his captors will. Where as Number Six famously protested “I am not a number, I am a free man”, as he resisted having his individuality systematically stripped from him, so Alix remains equally resilient, holding on to his own identity as a gay man despite the arbiters attempts to break him by having him believe he has brought shame on his family and is an abomination in the eyes of the lord. “Your wife will thank-you. Your children will thank-you… You’re going to be very happy”, explains the arbiter in cold, chilling tones as he paints a picture of the life a successful conversion could lead to. However, with the lack of progress being made by these psychological attempts to break Alix’s resolve, things quickly escalate and much more brutal ways are found in an increasingly desperate attempt to quite literally beat the ‘gay’ out of him. Alix’s only solace is the relationship he forges with fellow occupant Marcus who, having been in The Facility much longer than Alix, seems to forever be just days away from a ‘successful’ response to the treatment, his conversion therapy appearing to be reaching its conclusion… however, all is definitely not as it first appears.
With such strong performances supported, throughout by equally impressive production values right across the board, my only criticism would be that the play teeters on the edge of loosing direction a couple of times towards the end, or to be more precise… ‘ends’, as there seem to be several here. To linger on these for any length of time would be churlish after such a moving experience though. Yes, The Convert can sometimes be hard to watch, but it remains as compelling as it is distressing at times. (The memory of a battered and bruised Alix standing with his mouth wide open, a dehumanising act he has been conditioned to make when seeking permission to speak, is a haunting image that, alongside the arbiters emotionally detached acknowledgement of, “Thank-you for your compliance”, is still enough to send shivers down the spine). Brave, bold and uncompromising, this is an unexpected piece of must-see theatre.
★★★★★
review: Simon J. Webb
photographs: PBGstudios