Four Play

Kings Head Theatre • 11th July - 17th August

First performed in 2016, Jake Brunger’s Four Play, (currently on at The Kings Head Theatre in Islington until Aug 17), finds young couple Rafe (Lewis Cornay) and Pete (Zheng Xi Yong) facing a bad case of ‘seven year itch’. Actually, the pair have been together for seven and a half years to be precise, but despite appearing on the surface to be every inch the perfect couple, there is an underlying nagging regret they both harbour as we soon discover that neither actually had sex before meeting and settling down with each other, and whilst both are at pains to reassure the other that the sex between them is still as good as it has always been, it can’t erase the fact that the only sex both of them has ever had is with each other.

Secure in the knowledge that theirs is a relationship strong enough to incorporate a ‘one time only’ opportunity to open the relationship up to a third party, (doubling their tally of sexual partners in the process), they agree, after much debate, that mutual friend Michael (Daniel Bravo) ticks all the boxes. For a start he is also in a relationship, and so is unlikely to have any expectations about the tryst beyond it’s necessity to be a one night stand (or, to be more precise, a ‘two night stand’ given both Rafe and Pete want their moment to be a one-on-one experience with Michael), and as his relationship is already ‘famously open’, there are unlikely be any repercussions with his own partner Andy, (Jo Foster). Despite this, their final stipulation for the arrangement is that Andy must never find out about the arrangement as, being a close friend of Rafe’s, things might get a little bit awkward if they were ever to bump into each other down the aisles of Sainsbury’s.

What could possibly go wrong with such a well constructed masterplan? Quite a lot it would seem as underlying tensions are quick to surface given that not only is the sex between Rafe and Pete not quite as fulfilling as they might have each other believe, but Michael has no intention of keeping the arrangement a secret from a less than delighted Andy.

Having previously raved about Jo Fosters’s performance in Why Am I So Single, (see link) and Zheng Xi Yong in Your Lie In April, (see link) I knew the parts of Andy and Pete were likely to be in good hands, but I found myself being equally as impressed by Lewis Cornay’s portrayal as Rafe and Daniel Bravo as the increasingly conflicted Michael. Yes, Andy has the most interesting story-arc, which Foster once again absolutely devours with relish, even if they do have to wait in the wings for their character’s fairly late arrival into the story, but Cornay and Bravo also take total ownership of their own portrayals, their comic timing and nuanced performances transforming Brunger’s words into fully rounded three dimensional characters replete with cheek, charm and conflict.

Never preachy, and often very funny, Brunger puts fidelity, attraction, monogamy, love, lust and deceit into the blender of life and gives it an entertaining blitz for 90 mins. Whilst it’s true the story itself may not seem the most original premise for a slice of contemporary queer theatre, the script is sharply written and comes alive through the performances of all four charismatic actors, Jack Sain’s tight direction keeping the energy high throughout. The rather rushed expositional info-dump that tops and tails the performance is the only misstep, it feeling tonally at odds with the rest of the play which, when it finds it’s stride, is a delight to watch unravel.

Peiyao Wang’s set is both stylishly functional and elegantly minimalist, it being constructed like a wire-frame diagram made real through the inventive use of copper piping, effectively providing the boundaries to both couples apartments where the majority of the action takes place. This slick set is complimented by Wang’s equally impressive costume design who, along with Stylist and Costume Supervisor Bertie Taylor-Smith help define each characters individuality through the various looks they are given. Despite it being almost ten years since it first hit the stage, Four Play still feels relevant and it’s subject matter one that is sure to spark plenty of interesting, and perhaps even challenging, conversations afterwards.

★★★★

Four Play is on at the Kings Head Theatre until 17th August. Tickets available here

review: Simon J. Webb