Taron Edgerton and Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey are hilarious in play designed to shock with fully clothed sex scene
THE name of Taron Egerton’s new West End play - apart from giving us all a good snigger - doesn’t give much away.
C*CK (yes, really) sees the Rocketman actor star alongside Bridgerton leading man Jonathan Bailey in a revolving whirlwind of dialogue about sex, gender, and identity.
Once you’ve stopped giggling and got the obligatory photo underneath the giant C*CK poster out of the way, you’re tucked into the intimate Ambassadors Theatre to see the two big-name actors wrestle (sometimes literally) with their relationship and their sexuality.
Egerton passed out during his first performance, and I can see why.
He joked afterwards that he “gave such a committed, electrifying performance” that his body “couldn’t handle it and checked out”.
Luckily he managed to make it through the whole performance when I saw the highly anticipated revival of Mike Bartlett’s 2009 hit show.
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The two central men are pinned in by a set of metallic boards, looking not unlike a dodgy nightclub toilet, and the stage slowly rotates at key points to bring them closer together or further apart.
Bridgerton heartthrob Jonathan Bailey shines as the main character John, who after an argument with his boyfriend named only as M, played by Egerton, falls in love with a woman.
The show starts with him dancing alone Matrix-style on stage before we launch into the heated back and forth exchanges which maintain a tempo almost all the way though the 1hr 45 minute long show.
The tone is playful at first as Egerton’s character M is puppy-like as the couple bicker and talk about the space between them.
It’s an incredibly funny show with the audience being carried along by the high-energy interactions between Bailey and Egerton.
Jade Anouka, who recently starred in His Dark Materials, is brilliant as W, the woman who Bailey’s character falls head over heels in love with.
Phil Daniels, who plays M’s father called F, appears at the climax of the show to offer an older perspective to the battle.
At one point Anouka and Bailey - who were are used to seeing in steamy full-frontal romps in Bridgerton - act out a sex scene while standing fully clothed six feet apart.
Shoulder movements and twitches let us know what is going on with the audience left to imagine the rest.
Ultimately this is a play about sexuality and whether who you sleep with or love defines who you are.
John asks whether it would be better to describe ourselves as a “stew” rather than the labels of straight, gay, or bi which he is grappling with.
It’s a topic which has flooded our TV screens and cinemas in recent years making it no longer a conversation confined to university common rooms or activist circles.
At one point F asks John: “Well there’s lots of new words to choose from aren’t there… why don’t you pick one of them?”
As a society we have moved on - only slightly - from the time at which Barlett wrote this play.
Having someone introduce themselves with their pronouns isn’t shocking anymore, and at points the dialogue about identity which was intended to shock the audience falls flat.
But nonetheless John’s main query, which we see is tearing him apart to a state of paralysis by the end, remains relevant in 2022.
Why should his sexuality be defined at all when he himself is unsure of who he should love or who he wants? Who gets to decide who he is?
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Our frustration is articulated by Anouka brilliantly who yells at Bailey to make a decision, which we know he can’t do.
Egerton’s sulkish stubbornness and Bailey’s physicality shine in this polished production of C*CK, which draws its audience by a mix of farce and drama in equal measure.
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C*CK
Ambassadors Theatre, London
★★★★
C*OCK, directed by Marianne Elliott, is playing until Saturday 4 June 2022.
