Canary – Liverpool Playhouse

Writer: Jonathan Harvey

Director: Hettie MacDonald

Reviewer: John Roberts

The Public Reviews Rating:

When reviewing a show, especially If I have to go after the main press night, I try my best to avoid reading any of the other reviews that have been published. but walking into the Playhouse theatre last night it is hard not to see all the 4 & 5 star reviews this production has been given, as they are proudly displayed for all to see.

The question is, was I seeing the same production that the reviewers saw on Tuesday night? or am I just one reviewer who isn’t afraid to speak out against a mainstream play whose main focus is the struggle of Gay Rights in the UK? Jonathan Harvey’s latest play has in his own words ‘been written from the heart,’ and perhaps here lies the shows main weakness.

Telling the simultaneous story of a closeted gay relationship in the 1960’s and then another of a younger more open couple in the 1980’s. Secrets are unearthed when a paparazzi storm surfaces and threatens to tear a family apart, secrets which link estranged father, Tom (Philip Voss) & son Mickey (Ben Allen) closer than they think.

Harvey’s script utilises cross-cutting throughout, a device which works seamlessly in TV but on the stage needs to be constructed cleverly and carefully, unfortunately Harvey wants to say so much in his 2 hour play that the amount the timeline jumps from past and present becomes a confusing jumble that takes longer to realise where you are in the protagonists story than it should. The other main thing is the way the subject matter is handled, unfortunately Harvey seems to want to tackle subjects which 20 years ago may have been taboo and may still shock the vast majority of the white middle class audience which comprised 70% of Friday nights audience, but for a twenty something reviewer this is hardly revolutionary theatre, and barley touches anything that we haven’t already encountered before.

MacDonald’s direction is slick, but the structure of Harvey’s script means that it is hard to establish any scene without the constant bringing on and off of furniture, (a device which failed recent production 1984 at the Royal Exchange in Manchester.) MacDonald has also allowed the gay characters in the piece to be overtly camp and typically stereotyped, which not only weakens the impact of the message of the piece but also grates rather quickly. The set of two half globes creating a striking backdrop to proceedings although stunning, doesn’t help the staging of the piece, at times the steep rake make some of the cast look uncomfortable and unsteady.

However the production is given credibility by some stunning performances; Paula Wilcox as Ellie provides a powerful and strong turn, filled with raw energy that is bursting from the seams. Ben Allen gives a wonderfully powerful performance as headstrong Mickey which only makes the characters downward fall into the grips of Aids ever more poignant.

Overall Canary is a disappointing experience, the production brings nothing new to the arguments of gay rights, instead it seems to wallow in its own self righteousness and historical lessons that it wants to educate us on.