‘Do you believe in love at first sight?’
Candy is the debut play by Tim Fraser. It started out as a 15 minute play, but it’s since evolved into an hour long show.
Candy follows Will (Michael Waller) a normal northern bloke on a journey of confusion over his sexuality and masculinity. As Will falls in love with Candy, the drag alter ego of his best friend Billy.
Waller gives a superb performance and brings Fraser’s beautiful script to life. A range of emotions are shown within the performance, and how much he is pining over Candy is believable. Will’s struggle is that the rational part of him understands that he cannot be with Candy, she’s only part of Billy, and his feelings aren’t for Billy. But when it comes to love, we humans are rarely rational.
Fraser’s script is lightly peppered with humour which provides some comic relief from the touching storyline. The play has multiple important themes running through it. And at its’s heart, is an exploration of love.
Candy is no frills storytelling. It’s stripped back, with no set or props, all the power is in Waller’s hands. Waller is a captivating storyteller and had me hooked from the first word he uttered until the last.
This is a beautiful tale, I would have loved to have seen Candy in some form, perhaps as a video projection or similar, so we can understand what Will feels. But regardless, this is truly an incredible story.
{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}
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