Review: IN CONVERSATION WITH GRAHAM NORTON, Waterloo East
Photo credit: Robert Piwko
In Conversation With Graham Norton by Simon Perrott is a one-person drama that attempts to chart the interior life of a young man, Mark—a 15-year-old grappling with sexuality, loneliness and identity—by talking to a photograph of Graham Norton, rather than to him in the flesh.
The stripped-back set design comprising of a bed, a vinyl player and the photograph of Norton creates a genuine intimacy while keeping the focus intensely on Mark.
Jamie Kaye portrays the young Mark with sincere naivety and moments of wit. In the moments of emotional climax, this juvenile innocence is, at times, limiting, however. The ‘cleanness’ of the character and non-conversational speech makes it difficult to genuinely root for the character. Perhaps this is part of Gerald Armin’s directorial vision or Simon Perrott’s writing, but for a play where there are moments of tragedy and sadness baked in, it is sometimes difficult to appreciate the emotional weight of Mark’s predicament due to his overly clean-cut performance.
The play’s referencing of bullying, shame, and the struggle to belong, is timely and part of a wider cannon of queer theatre in recent years. The conceit of having Graham Norton’s image there as a vessel to having such conversations is also interesting and has great possibility. The rooting of all moments in the play to the notion of this conversation does limit the play’s development though. One reason that The Graham Norton Show works so well is the acknowledgment of a live studio audience, and a playing with that within this text could perhaps lend more depth to moments of emotional exposition for an audience.
In Conversation With Graham Norton tries with varying degrees of success to tackle important issues around identity and self-acceptance. Yet, for all its ambition, the piece doesn’t quite cohere into the definitive theatrical experience it aspires to. It tells us something about voice, isolation, and the longing to be heard, but leaves one wanting more in terms of theatrical momentum and dramatic closure.
** Two stars
Reviewed by: Jeff Mostyn
