An unwelcome addition as far as he's concerned is EJ (Kaireece Denton,) son of Dwayne's late sister, who's asked to stay the night. Cordell isn't too happy to have EJ in the house, as on multiple occasions he's suspected him of stealing.
Rajha Shakiry's set gives us the kitchen, back yard and an upstairs bedroom where EJ will be staying, allowing Roy Alexander Weise's production to sprawl across the stage and the characters to quickly come into focus on what is initially predominantly a comedy (to be honest I found Femi Temowo's music cues a bit too sitcom for the play's energy.) The cast quickly make this a friendship group you both recognise and care about, and although the Tennessee accents take a while to get used to (and Denton's is distractingly inconsistent) their catty back-and-forths get a lot of laughs. While Isom and Big Charles are largely there as comic relief, there's also a nicely underplayed subplot suggesting they'd both be happier if they let their occasional hook-ups develop into something more serious.
By the second act a lot of tensions more pressing than just whether the chicken marinade will be right have raised their head, with EJ bringing to the fore Cordell's worries about having been a bad father to his own sons, as well as questioning where he stands in his relationship: Having had to leave his job to move in with Dwayne, he now feels he's being treated as the secondary partner who's not providing for the household, and doesn't get consulted about letting Dwayne's nephew stay, possibly for a longer term.
The most interesting ideas around masculinity come in this more serious second act as we see more of EJ's father TJ (Dwane Walcott,) the only character who's given homophobic sentiments in the play (even Cordell's guilt over leaving his family for a man doesn't really express itself in self-hatred.) At the play's heart is Dwayne being able to shut down any comments by pointing out that TJ's life as a thief and pimp isn't something he recognises as a better male role model for his son than what his own life offers.
And this being the author of The Mountaintop, it's no surprise if TJ himself isn't shown as a one-dimensional villain: There's a rote nature to his abusive comments that suggests he's just saying what a man is supposed to think about gay people, while in reality he's clearly relaxed about both himself and his son spending time around them. This also leads to a comic showdown as the play's theme of spicy food being used as an indicator of masculinity comes to a natural climax featuring a chilli so hot it had to be smuggled in from Uganda (my sexuality is now Dwane Walcott having to strip because he's eaten too much spicy chicken.)
Hall clearly loves spending time with her characters as much as she wants the audience to, and the play's only real flaw is that it can ramble a bit when it could do with getting to the point. It's particularly apparent at the ending, which tries to wrap up every possible loose end for every character. It's not quite what I would call Multiple Ending Syndrome as it doesn't feature several moments that feel like a definitive ending before turning out not to be; more like Hall is so determined we leave knowing her characters will ultimately be all right that she can't quite say goodbye to them*.
But ultimately this is another hit from Hall, that once again shows some of her particular writing strengths - not just her balance in showing how people can embody seemingly contradictory qualities, but also, in the clever approach to the topic of what makes a man, her ability to write something you can mentally sit back and admire the structural skill of, while still being drawn into the story and the moment.
The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall is booking until the 14th of September at the National Theatre's Dorfman.
Running time: 2 hours 55 minutes including interval.
Photo credit: Helen Murray
*tonight the show was also dragged out slightly longer by Walcott and Denton getting trapped in the bedroom set, and the performance having to be paused until the door handle could be fixed
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