At the new Kings Head Theatre in Islington, Two Come Home tells a story not unfamiliar to
many (if not most) of us in the LGBTQ+ community. Whilst it succeeds in conveying its
heartbreaking, gloomy, and raw message, the production was, like the protagonist, a tad
rough round the edges.
It tells the story of Evan, a sullen gay man from small-town Kentucky. We’re told that 10
years before current day, Evan fell in love with the forlorn Jimmy. His family’s discovery of
the pair’s love tears the family apart; His disapproving redneck father ends up imprisoned
whilst his mother becomes an alcoholic, drug-addled, vagrant. Jimmy disappears to live his
life back in the closet. We meet him now, a decade later, as he returns to the unnamed
Kentucky hamlet as a divorced Dad of one. He immediately rekindles his relationship with
Jimmy, and we watch as the family react. Prison, drugs, jealousy, and a sprinkle of
homophobia, turn out to be the recipe for drama, despair, and even death.
Though the heavily dark and gloomy story attempted to evoke a sense of sadness and
desperation for the characters, I couldn’t help but feel devoid of emotion. It felt transparently
predictable within that genre of tortured small-town closet cases struggling to come to terms
with themselves and their surroundings. So much so that, when I told him my main critique
was predictably, my partner was able to correctly predict the whole story without seeing Two
Come Home. Whilst it held my attention, it felt unoriginal. I’ve seen countless versions of
Two Come Home’s story in fringe productions over the years and didn’t feel like this added
anything new. This time-honoured tale needed something fresh.
Two Come Home is clearly the playwright/composer/designer/leading man, Joe Eason’s
passion project. His layered, raw portrayal of the sullen protagonist Evan is heartbreaking.
His gorgeous voice displays a massive talent in the haunting acoustic interlude. I know it’s
not a musical, but one more chance to hear his singing would have been very welcome. The
standout performance was given by James Burton as the deadbeat father Caleb – clinging to his dream of a “normal family” while balancing his hatred for his son’s identity and his wife’s alcoholic numbness. His misplaced delusional anger was awe-inspiringly faultless; Even more so set against the drug-addled, cognitively immobile mum, played by Nicola Goodchild. Ben Maytham as returning heartthrob Jimmy, was charmingly compelling as a closeted man, unable to control his true desires. However, the connection between Evan and Jimmy was unfortunately lacking, which was especially apparent during the more intimate moments. Intimacy coordinator Marina Cusi Sanchez has some work to do. This wasn’t the only aspect that required more work to make it seem authentic – every cast member has accent work to do. They all had moments of slipping in and out of varying southern American accents. The lack of cohesion and consistency often broke the mood, and their native twangs detracted from the strong acting.
While my review may seem reproving, I want to emphasise that I enjoyed the show a lot. It
has merit and potential – hence why I gave so much thought to how to build on its strong
foundations. It dares to be gloomy, dares to leave the audience sad. Too many shows rely
on established movie IP’s to ensure a crowd-pleasing profit – meaning there’s an obvious
lack of risk taking by theatre makers. Two Come Home defies to take risks; with refinement,
editing and a bit of “settling in time” this production could be fantastic.
Two Come Home is currently on a UK Tour stopping at Colchester 29th-3rd November
tickets are available at https://www.twocomehomeplay.com/tickets
Comments