11.86°C It was a dramatic, tension-filled way to begin the first night of the Colchester Fringe. Love Is A Bruise is the latest play by local playwright Dr Paul T. Davies. It has been a year in development from four workshops on masculinity that the Mercury Theatre ran last year. It’s a topical and controversial subject, and Davies does not shy away from any of the toxicity surrounding it.
The play features three characters: Dougie, a mature gay man with plenty of stories and sexual partners in his locker; Nick, an archetypal man’s man from a military background; and Ray, a public servant with a mysterious past and guilt issues. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away because I want everyone to go and see this play and come to their own judgements and opinions about these characters and their issues. They are all wonderfully played by Davies himself as Dougie, Kevin Inskip as Nick, and Chris Austin as Ray. The chemistry between the three is excellent and grows as the tension builds and the emotions run high. These performances are of the highest order.
The characters develop as they put their clothes on, and we start to form an impression of them. It’s a slowish build, and my only slight criticism of an otherwise superb piece of drama is that the pace could be quicker during these scenes. However, this was the first performance, so that can easily be remedied. Once the characters are established and we reach the scenes where all three are in the same room, it is as powerful a piece of drama as I’ve seen in a very long time. Davies’s writing is sublime, and the direction by Wendy Smith and Nate Drury is faultless. It is supplemented by the estimable Harry Harris’s great technical design and lighting.
Love Is A Bruise (as we discover), but it’s also a triumph for everyone involved. I would encourage anyone over the age of 16 (there is a lot of swearing, plus depictions and discussion of violence) to see it. There are three more performances at Colchester Fringe. Don’t miss it. If the rest of the Fringe Festival is half as good as this, we are in for quite some treat. Mind you, after seeing it, you may never want to play I Spy ever again!
Love Is A Bruise runs at the Mercury Studio – 24, 26, 28 & 29 October. Tickets are available.
Review by Tim Young
