This relentlessly energetic one-man play is less My Beautiful Launderette meets the
Premier League, more Alan Bennett’s Talking
Heads on speed.
The subject is homosexuality and football, a topic dramatised
by Kyle (Rob Ward) who leads a peculiar but normalised life as an
out-of-the-closet football devotee and secret gay sex worker. When a famous opponent
player turns out to be a new client, Kyle’s carefully controlled life begins to
tilt out of his control.
Theatre on social ‘issues’ is too often toe-curlingly
earnest but Ward carries Away From Home with
enormous presence, Scouse charm, unapologetic language and a dose of well-observed
humour. Don’t let the ‘one man’ performance fool you, the stage is peopled with
secondary characters that are brought to life only through Ward’s dynamic
telling.
If the script is occasionally a little baggy it doesn’t
hamper the performance and there are genuinely exhilarating moments. When Kyle
sees his lover in a nightclub draped over an attractive would-be WAG he
drunkenly hurls a well-known chant from the stands in his direction, now riddled with convoluted meaning: Who are
ya? Who are ya? It’s a terrific moment and should have been the title of the
play.
Ward misses neither a beat nor a line, devouring the set as
he relays his unlikely tale to an unseen lover and by proxy to us.
No spoilers, but as in life there are no neat resolutions,
and still no footballers out of the closet. Let’s hope when the real thing
happens there’s a lot less drama.
There are two performances tomorrow,Saturday 1st of February, tickets here.
There are two performances tomorrow,Saturday 1st of February, tickets here.
