What is love to you? If you looked back at your life, what would stand out? How would you describe the people you love? In William Heath’s acclaimed play Conversations, this is what the omnipresent voice asks Tommy, played by Alex Mcgovern, to examine when he enters the afterlife. From fish and chips, feeling stuck between the fairies and footballs, to forgiving, accepting, and working through grief; William Heath’s new writing is a touching exploration of growing up queer in modern Britain. It is a play that explores timeless themes such as lust, fear, childhood trauma, and growing old.
The director effectively utilised the small cast in the intimate Burton Taylor theatre. Tommy, who never left the stage, gave a convincing and often moving presentation of a young man trying to accept the love that isn’t modelled in the relationships he has experienced so far. Heath’s writing is generous to his actors, allowing for many tender and humorous moments, as seen in the relationship between Tommy and Lucy, Tommy’s ‘token straight friend’ played energetically by Aaysha Ahmed, who doubled as Julie (Tommy’s Mum’s friend). The audience watched Tommy relive his youth until his early thirties, becoming paralyzed by the news that his first child is on the way. We watched Lucy as she supported her friend through his anxiety. The silence as she held him was particularly warming and a lovely presentation of their bond. However, this intimate moment was soon brought back to the humour found in the fast pace of Heath’s script, as Lucy reminds Tommy he does have ‘a baby half-way out’.
It was Halah Irvine’s performance which left the audience wanting more. When Irvine, playing Tommy’s blunt Northern Irish mother, came on stage, we were rewarded with her funny, skilful anecdotes that explored her love for her son and fear of dying alone. Rewarded with the generosity of Heath’s script and her brilliant stage chemistry with Alex Mcgovern, the exploration of death and old age was also a standout scene. The audience watched Irvine and McGovern sort out her medication, all the while discussing Tommy’s marriage, quipping about Tommy’s arrogance and vocalising their love as Tommy hugged his mother, promising that she would never end up as ill or lonely as their neighbour, whose funeral Irvine had comically discussed at length with her son. The subsequent scene of reconciliation between Adam Talib, who played Jack (Tommy’s husband), and Tommy was highly emotional. The 25 years of love were evident as they hugged and slowly danced. Adam’s performance had many subtleties, and Alex’s portrayal of the defensive husband skilfully contrasted Adam’s calm demeanour. Their fights over teabags and different perspectives on marriage were explored beautifully. The missing aspect was seeing the men kiss, which made sense from a narrative perspective many times but would have been effective in the final reconciliation.
The technical aspects of the play enhanced the performance. For example, the flashing interviews created a warming Love Actually-esque environment, allowing the audience to explore Tommy’s life from a child to his 80s. The subtitles projected on the back helped to keep the play’s cohesion and sometimes got a small laugh from the audience with stage directions like: ‘Sex’. The split stage was effectively used, although often the lighting changes and transitions between narratives were clunky. The reference back to Tommy’s mother being cheated on, as she sits solemnly in red light projected onto the back, was intended to reference the infidelity in Tommy’s own marriage. However, this was most likely lost on the majority of the audience.
Overall, the cast brought Heath’s script to life. Tommy’s animated character and sensitive exploration of queerness made the audience laugh, cringe, and shed a tear as we watched him navigate love and relationships and work out what they meant for him. The play examined tender and non-traumatic queer love, providing the audience with the subtleties and joy so often lacking in queer coming-of-age stories. Heath’s characters were human, flawed and complex. The play gave the audience the antithesis to a traumatic gay love story with some imaginative tech and superb performances.
Special thanks to Katie Kirkpatrick