Blowing Whistles
Sound, W1
***
Workmanlike is the word to describe Matthew Todd's well-made, and at times funny three-hander that delights its intended gay audience without ever showing the quality that could extend its appeal.
Safe, middle-class couple Jamie and Nigel invite the young, exotically common Cumboy 17 for an evening of whatyou-will, only for the intruder's presence to expose the fault lines in their tired relationship.
It's a well-tested formula but Todd handles the plotting with sufficient skill to avoid ennui and, in the first half, throws in some great oneliners by way of decoration.
Where the play fails is in its piecemeal characterisation. Only one of our three hands - hero Jamie - has the full five fingers. He gets the best jokes and, since he is faithful, insightful and sensitive, all our sympathy.
Nigel, by contrast, is a sex-andimageobsessed lifestyle slave, and the good-gay-v-bad-gay dynamic, while fine to peg jokes on, isn't interesting enough to anchor the second act. Meanwhile, Cumboy 17, Mark to his friends, is rarely more than functional, his vulnerability commented upon but not explored.
Yet there is a touching, everyday reality in Jamie's desire for stability and nostalgia for a time when gayness had fewer strings. Political references to Tatchell, Stonewall and McKellen seem tacked on, but the hint at wider concerns resonates. If your pound is pink, you could spend it worse.
Until 15 July (0870 890 0503).
