Theatre review: Afterglow

S. Asher Gelman's Afterglow was a big success for Southwark Playhouse a few years ago, so with theatres still needing a few bankable hits to keep them afloat, maybe it's not entirely surprising if a show about three attractive men who shower on stage a lot, and also some other stuff happens probably, is back in The Large for another run*. And if I'm sounding judgemental about the "sex sells" policy, regular readers of this blog will both know I am absolutely the target audience for this, or why else would I be back for a play whose actual merits I was always fairly ambivalent about in the first place? Broadway director Josh (Peter McPherson) and his husband Alex (Victor Hugo,) who is a Something Something Chemistry, have an open relationship which has always seemed to work well for them - their marriage is happy and stable, and they're about to have a baby with a surrogate.

The play opens with them having a threesome with Darius (understudy Paddy Cavendish,) a younger massage therapist, with Josh then arranging to meet him again the next day on his own. This is totally within the rules of the relationship, but what complicates things is Josh and Darius developing feelings for each other, which definitely isn't. Alex ends up on the outside of his own marriage, and Josh is in a situation where any outcome will see him lose at least one person he loves.

This is a new production of the play, with the playwright himself directing, but it didn't feel very different from what I remember from five years ago - right down to the awkward scene changes that hold up the action. I guess there's only so much you can do with a story that revolves around the characters taking quite so many showers, and Ann Beyersdorfer's mirrored set has to juggle the furniture into various configurations around the central drain.

I was also reminded of some of my issues with the play itself, like the fact that the couple expecting a baby is frequently referenced as a reminder of the stakes in keeping their relationship strong, and ultimately it feels like too huge a thing to take second fiddle in the story. Plus the characters' vague-but-glamorous-sounding careers straight out of a rom-com are a bit of a personal bugbear, although either I missed a line about Josh having family money the first time around, or it's been subsequently added because the idea that a not-particularly-famous theatre director was keeping himself and two other people in luxury was inadvertently providing the show's funniest gag.

Maybe these niggles stood out more this time around because I didn't buy the relationship between Josh and Alex - there's just not enough of a spark between McPherson and Hugo to invest in them as a couple. Cavendish brings an impressive energy to Darius' growing relationship with Josh though, and while I'm not going to be quite so crass as to comment on size regarding the numerousFULL FRONTAL MALE NUDITY ALERT!sI will say I think after tonight I could recognise Cavendish's front bottom from a lineup, and as for his back bottom that could be in the running for the end-of-year awards. On the way out Ben commented that there wasn't much plot but a lot of the dialogue was good, which is more or less what I said in my review last time - Josh accidentally comparing his and Darius' romance to Woody Allen and Soon-Yi is probably the best gag. Overall, though, this feels like a slightly chillier retread of the last time this show was here.

Afterglow by S. Asher Gelman is booking until the 10th of February at Southwark Playhouse Borough's Large Theatre.

Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes straight through.

Photo credit: The Other Richard.

*they're also getting in on the merch game with Afterglow-themed scented candles, for anyone who wants to spend £20 on a candle that smells of, I would assume, cum.