The D Word
The VAULTS Festival, 13th Feb - 17th Feb
If Jordan Waller ever wants to take a break from acting, I don’t think he’d have too much trouble forging a new career as a stand up comedian based on his performance last night in his one man comedy show The D Word. Whilst I’m sure this wasn’t intended as a stand-up performance per se, his chosen style of delivery plus the exceptionally lively audience interjections that at times force him to leave the script for some brief interaction with them, meant that things do indeed start feeling more like a comedy gig than a stage performance. Strange then, that despite the laughter that echoed around this cavernous brick venue throughout the show, one of the ‘D’ words at the core of this performance is death, and far from this being Jordan’s arbitrary musings on a subject for comedic effect, what unfolds is a great deal more personal as the show is actually based on the story of his own unconventional upbringing.
Anyone who has followed Jordan Waller’s career, (currently best known for his role as Lord Alfred Paget in ITV period drama Victoria, as well as playing Churchill’s son Randolph in the recent biopic Darkest Hour opposite Gary Oldman) will probably have at least some idea of the personal history he draws upon for this, his stage debut. It has already made great copy for many journalists in a lot of his interviews to date, which is hardly surprising given he comes from what he describes as a ‘post-nuclear’ family, being born to lesbian parents as the result of a ‘spermy experiment of test tube acrobatics’. Having been brought up by two mothers, one being his biological mother the other his mothers partner Dawn, (the second D word), it is Dawn’s death that indirectly triggers Jordan’s search for his sperm donor Dad, (D word number three), even if by law he is not allowed to find out who he is. The story of his journey that unfolds is both hilarious and thought provoking in equal measure. There is even the occasional visual aid, one of which takes us deep into the 7 year old Jordans psyche by way of his self made ‘En-dyke-lopedia’, (Yes, you did read that correctly, dyke being the fourth possible D word of the shows title), a scrap book into which he felt compelled at the time to categorise different types of lesbians with drawings ranging from a Sporty Dyke to a Career Dyke, (and my own personal favourite, a slightly more ethereal cubist rendition of a Lego Dyke...Well, he was 7!)
Whilst the laughs seem to come thick and fast from the outset, clearly things weren’t quite so funny in reality for Jordan growing up, (bullying being just one thing he had to endure as the result of his unconventional home-life), but he crafts the narrative in such a way that The D Word is never anything less than a fascinating and entertaining look at what is increasingly becoming a very real-world experience for children who are now growing up in gay families. Jordan is only of an age to be able to tell his story due to the almost pioneering nature of his mothers decision to get pregnant via a sperm donor in the early 1990’s, (as a lesbian with no real pre-existing templates to follow), and as such he is one of the first to be able to offer such a fascinating and articulate insight into the impact of all the D words on his life.
That Jordan is gay (Yes, ‘dicks’ is another of the show’s reference D words) and is now seeking to become a sperm donor himself only adds even more layers onto what can already be considered a quite unique story of our time, (strange given his is a career so far steeped in historical characterisations), and all comes together in a performance that is as brutally honest as it is hilariously funny.
★★★★
