Right now is a pertinent time to be seeing this play. It was written for the Bolton Octagon Theatre to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of a change in the law in England and Wales. In 1967 sex in private between men over 21 was decriminalised. This heralded a slow, stop-start progress towards equality that is currently beginning to be challenged all over again. Protests about the most basic education are happening outside English schools, rattling the still-fresh bones of Section 28. Unlike the 1967 act, Section 28 affected men and women alike and the fear that progress could be reversed is strong. Take a look at the voting records of those currently vying to become our unelected Prime Minister.
All I See Is You is set shortly before any of this happened. Like many young men at the time Bobby and Ralph are wondering when the law is going to change and whether it will at all. For now they go about their lives as criminals in Bolton. Bobby sells records in Woolworths and Ralph is a trainee teacher. Lacking more salubrious options they meet for the first time in a ‘notorious’ public toilet. The attraction is instant, the sex immediate and then they begin the process of getting to know one another. And of falling in love.
Love is never straightforward but when you have to hide it things can seem hopeless. Ralph and Bobby have the vindictive police to worry about as well as censure from family and society, and the threat posed by vicious blackmailers. KATHRINE SMITH’s tender and truthful play explores all of this at an impressive pace. Some of the perils and indignities it exposes are truly horrifying, all the more so for their basis in documented truth.
Life in that time and place is vividly evoked, not only through songs played as a background but in how the characters talk and what they talk about. This is even more impressive in a play that uses neither set nor props. The stage space is empty and dark but the two actors fill it with life. Sharp atmospheric lighting is provided by CHARLIE MORGAN JONES.
First into the space is Bobby, effectively our narrator. He is chirpy and laddish, played with perfect warmth by CIARÁN GRIFFITHS. Griffiths is an actor who excels at comedy (see Bobby dance!) but his expressive face is used to touching and heartbreaking effect as well. Shy Ralph is harder to read because he is a man who learned to hide his feelings very early in life. CHRISTIAN EDWARDS’ performance is more tightly bound as a result but no less affecting. Ralph is working class like Bobby but having gone to university he is burdened by his family’s hopes and expectations in ways that Bobby is not. He struggles to accept that he is gay until the hounding of the local constabulary leaves him no choice. The scenes that follow are difficult to take but beautifully written and played.
Sobering though it is as a modern history lesson, All I See Is You succeeds as a love story too. The thrill of young love in it is strong. The idea that all of this could be brought down by laws and law-enforcers harassing this couple over their love is grotesque. And yet it happened in my own living memory, while I was at school.
Director BEN OCCHIPINTI‘s minimalist approach serves the drama well and his casting is exemplary. The flawless performances of Griffiths and Edwards make watching this thought-provoking 70-minute piece a rewarding and memorable treat.
Written by: Kathrine Smith
Directed by: Ben Occhipinti
Cast:
Christian Edwards (Ralph)
Ciarán Griffiths (Bobby)
Theatre Va-va-voom! 