REVIEW: DESPERATE TIMES at Lion & Unicorn Theatre 9 - 13 May 2023

‘a worthy attempt to tell a coming-out story’ ★★

Adam Laboda has written and directed their own play, dealing with a young man in a farming community, trying to quit The Village for the bright lights of The City, where he can find out about his sexual identity without his mum judging him. Writing and directing is probably one role too many. The play runs for two hours and desperately needs cutting, the staging – two chairs, two boxes, and an assortment of mugs – is really not up to the amount of scene changes it has to represent, and actors spend an inordinate amount of time fiddling with fairly insignificant props, in the absence of any clearer idea of what to do.

All that said, it’s a worthy attempt to tell a coming-out story, and while the mum gets consistently short shrift, other characters chart quite interesting courses. Sean Renwick plays the young man’s father, and generates a warmth and affection that is nice to see. He also plays Jonny, a much more straightforwardly macho farm boy from The Village, with a very nicely judged final two-handed scene that is revelatory and moving.

An overlong play with rudimentary stage-craft that nevertheless delivers a couple of moments of treasurable theatre.

DESPERATE TIMES at Lion & Unicorn Theatre 9 - 13 May 2023

https://www.thelionandunicorntheatre.com/whats-on

Reviewed by Chris Lilly