Candy by Tim Fraser. Park 90, 13 Clifton Terrace, London N4 to 9th September 2023.

2**: William Russell.

Will is a fairly young Northener who lives with his mother and an aged aunt known as Toadface. His father left when he was 12 and he has had an unhappy adolescence. Currently he works for an estate agent, goes drinking with the lads from school, and wonders whether his boss might just be showing more than a maternal interest in him. Then one night he and the lads go to a club to see the drag act – the Candy of the title - who turns out to be his old school friend Billy, an artistic type much mocked by his mates. Billy, who was artistic, managed to leave for London and has found himself.

The monologue Fraser has devised is delivered skilfully enough by Michael Waller but at times it is hard going and he has a less than compelling stage presence. Will is alone on stage with some of the audience seated at tables round the edge of the acting space. The walls are hung with glittering tape which creates a cabaret setting, there are interchanges with the people at the tables, and allows Will access to a microphone and become Candy for a second or two. He has, we discover, not fallen in love with Billy but with that bit of Billy that is Candy. Billy, however, when eventually Will manages to disclose his love, does not reciprocate, or not at first. Will, however, does get revitalised – he has been given leave from work because he is not concentrating on the job given his obsession with Candy – after Toadface dies. He discovers at the funeral that his Aunt Geraldine’s life may have ended sadly but she had a romantic and colourful past.

Waller manages the 70 minute monologue and the audience intercourse well enough and Tim Fraser has come up with an intriguing dilemma in the concept of infatuation with an illusion but it is hard to care about Will or what happens to him. Actually nothing much does – he resists Billy’s attempts, once he is told how Will feels, to at least become friends again, gets his job back, realises there was more to Toadface than met the eye and that is about it. And maybe he might meet Billy again. Apparently the piece had a hit run at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe with at least one reviewer on the edge of their seat. It certainly had me on the edge of mine – wishing I could get up and go.

Cast

Michael Waller – Will.

Creatives

Director – Nico Rao Pimpare

Music – Stephen Waller.

Sound Designer – Ann Short.

Set & Costume – Alys Whitehead.

Production Photograph – Ali Wright.