Sustaining a stable gay relationship is a slightly
challenging task, but what happens when every character has had a sexual experience
with the same man, and will there ever be any consequences to this? The Donmar
Warehouse’s recent West End transfer of the recently deceased, Kevin Elyot’s, ‘My
Night with Reg’ is precisely what the industry has needed, and the performances
were increasingly fascinating.
‘My Night with Reg’, originally written and performed in
1994 is situated in a pristine London flat, in 1985, where we are introduced to
Guy, a single 40 year old gay man, who is in the process of preparing a dinner
for some of his close friends. Additionally,
his flat’s conservatory is being re-decorated by young painter-decorator, Eric,
however, the work is not finished on schedule.
Guy is pleasantly surprised by the arrival of his absent friend, John,
and his presence is extremely welcomed.
The other “musketeer”, Daniel (Geoffrey Streatfield), who is on his way
on one of his many adventures, due to work commitments is excited by his friend’s
appearance. Paradoxically, John is
hiding a huge secret from Daniel as he has had a sordid affair with Daniel’s
partner, Reg. Of course Guy is mortified by John’s betrayal towards
Daniel. During the progression of the
performance, it is known that Reg has passed away and at the reception it seems
that Reg has in fact been involved in countless affairs with many of Guy, John
and Daniel’s friends; such as goofy, Bernie (Richard Cant) and his boyfriend
Benny (Matt Bardock), this evidently shows that Reg is not as clean cut as
Daniel thinks he was. It seems that Guy
is a source of comfort, and once it’s the reception for his own funeral, it’s noticeable
that his death has affected everyone in a gargantuan way. Eric knows that Guy had deep passionate
feelings towards John, but did not know of this information, and it’s startling
to know that Eric had sex with Reg, but under an alias. On the other hand,
there is a tender moment between John and Eric as they reminisce about the good
times that happened at the flat, when it was owned by Guy. Elyot’s narrative is
emotionally and intellectually stimulating as we are witnessing the vulnerability
of friendship, happiness and life itself, and how homosexual coupling can be
hard to maintain.
One found the performances by the company of, ‘My Night with
Reg’ to be fantastically beguiling as the friendship displayed is really strong
throughout. Jonathan Broadbent is excellent as, Guy; exclusively when he
explains to Eric of how his love for John began at university and how amateur
dramatics could have commenced a relationship, but it did not happen. Julian
Ovenden is brilliant as the once absent friend, John; particularly at the point
when he is anxious that his rendezvous’ with Reg could be exposed to Daniel and
that their friendship might cease to continue due to such disloyalty. Lewis
Reeves is delightful as the painter-decorator, Eric; expressly when see how kind
he is to those who are very emotional, for example when John becomes teary and when Guy becomes
depressed by his non-existent relationship status.
Robert Hastie’s direction is stunning here as he has worked
in captivating how gay friendships are vastly sturdy and that if there are any
glitches and upsetting situations, they will endeavour to comfort one other to
resolve certain circumstances. Peter
McKintosh’s design is pleasant as there’s wonderful attention to detail in
capturing the lavish flat that Guy has made for himself and for those who need
it as a place of sanctuary and scenic art and construction is amazing too.
Overall, the experience of ‘My Night
with Reg’ is a delightful production and worth a ticket purchase.
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