So the big question everyone wants to know the answer to is…
Is Cock worth £400?
Well I didn’t pay that crazy amount – but it was actually one of the most expensive theatre tickets I’ve ever bought at £85. And I booked it in October last year.
Mike Bartlett appears to be the man of the moment. Having just had plays running simultaneously all around town. There was The 47th at the Old Vic, An Intervention at Riverside Studios, Scandaltown at Lyric Hammersmith and of course Cock.
Cock premiered in 2009 at the Royal Court Theatre, starring Ben Whishaw and Andrew Scott. The play ran in the smaller of the two of the Royal Court’s spaces, it received critical acclaim – which makes it shocking that it’s taken over a decade for the show to transfer to the West End.
Cock centres around John (played by Jonathan Bailey) who is in a long term relationship with M (Joel Harper-Jackson). M is slightly older than John, and their relationship appears to be unequal and fraught.
John meets a woman and falls for her, causing an inner crisis for him regarding his sexuality- which prior to this he regarded himself as gay.
Jonathan Bailey is spectacular within this role.
He gives one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. Playing John, as a rather complex character, he’s narcissistic and flawed, rarely thinking about how his own inner turmoil is affecting the people around him that he claims to love. John is the singularly named character, with the other three characters not referred to by name and simply called ‘M’, ‘W’ and ‘F’ in the programme. This highlights the character’s narcissism.
It’s worth noting that the role of M was due to be played by Taron Edgerton, who fainted during the show’s first preview and subsequently pulled out of the show early on. Harper-Jackson was originally the understudy for the role, and then took over from Edgerton when he pulled out (sorry for the pun).
The play is formed by flash-backs and flash-forwards. Snapshots into the relationships between John and M and John and W. Movement is used between scenes which is beautiful to watch, helping the play to flow and aids the visualisation of what the characters are going through.
The staging is very simple and there are no props. There’s absolutely nothing for the actors to hide behind here, their performances have to stand on their own. And boy do they!
Jade Anouka’s W, is funny and gentle and you can completely understand why John falls for her. The chemistry between W and John is electric and is far superior to the chemistry between the two male leads.
This play speaks to anyone that’s struggled to define their sexuality when it doesn’t fit into the neat box of the labels on offer. As John says it is a stew, or fluid.
I believe this play could help so many people and so many would see themselves in John. Especially the younger generation as they discover who they are. It’s a shame therefore that unfortunately the price points of this production make in inaccessible to many. Although they offer the lottery, this would only work for people in London, or those that can get to the west end on short notice. There are shows out there doing so much more to make themselves accessible- To Kill a Mockingbird offers £15 tickets and rush tickets for the same price. Prima Facie has pay what you can seats and is being shown in cinemas after it’s run. It’s a shame this production has not done more.
Cock is hilarious and though-provoking. Bailey’s performance will stick with me and I fully expect to see his face everywhere during award season.
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