Theatre review | Safe
By Josh Lee
Safe
was an energetic, moving and powerfully constructed portrayal of LGBT youth homelessness. Written by renowned playwright Alexis Gregory (Slap), the script was crafted entirely from verbatim interviews with users of the Albert Kennedy Trust. The AKT was founded in 1989 after the tragic death of 16-year-old Albert Kennedy: its remit to look after and home LGBT people younger than 25, who have been cast out onto the street.
Huge themes to grapple with in their rawest form, but Gregory pulled off the feat with consummate craftsmanship. The set was simple, just four chairs, and director Robert Chevara nurtured an exceptional cast into making Gregory’s text sizzle with electricity.
Michael Fatogun shone as Samuel, an endearing young man cast out from his Nigerian family for being gay. Samuel’s occasional big-headed comments were played to layered comic effect by Fatogun: we realised that below the laughs, this bravado masked deep-rooted feelings of rejection. When Samuel talked about his first Pride, and how “no wonder I didn’t get any numbers, I was so skinny”, we found the beginnings of seeking validation in the body.
Eastenders actor Riley Carter Millington played female-to-male transgender character Jack. Millington made us feel the emotional punch each time Jack’s family wilfully misgenders him: especially after his mastectomy. It was refreshing to see Safe’s commitment to using trans actors, especially after Hollywood’s controversial choices for cis actors like Jared Leto (The Dallas Buyers Club) and Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) to be cast in trans roles.
The extraordinary Kit Redstone, a trans male actor, took on male-to-female trans character Tami in the play. Redstone gave a unique and mesmerising performance, nuanced with a perfect blend of ballsy vulnerability. And Laura Jayne Ayres’ heartbreaking tales of Alicia’s alcoholic desperation managed to both invest us in her story – “I can’t just have one drink” – and also feel marginally guilty each time we sipped our pint.
Chevara’s staging was sparse but effective, allowing the real power of the night to reside in the words and stories. He sent the characters travelling between their chairs like a tragic ballet of abandoned youth, and occasionally the actors became characters in each other’s stories. Yet Chevara ensured the clarity of the piece always retained cohesion, drawing out an effective emotional truth from both cast and text.
Gregory wisely kept the influence of the ‘deus ex machina’, the Albert Kennedy Trust, to a minimum intervention at each story’s end. Whilst the AKT’s work is undoubtedly invaluable and deserves celebration, in lesser hands this play could have become an extended advert. Instead, Gregory firmly landed the emphasis on the prejudice and emotional wreckage as to why the Trust still exists: a clear sign of a talented, deft and compassionate writer.
Safe drew the spectator in from its beginning and held the attention for its duration. You do have to accustom to the abrupt jolts between characters’ perspectives, but once the rhythm was gained, the stories took on their own unique strength – all the more so for the truth that stalked the actors’ tongues. An important and unflinching exploration of an issue that should shame our society to its core. Highly recommended.
Words by – Patrick Cash