British writer Mike Bartlett’s play Cock is not about what you think it’s about. In fact, there is no mention of the animal nor the genitalia througout the play.
Cock, a story that is as cerebral as it is affective, is about two gay men who, after years of being together, start to notice cracks in their relationship.
John (Topper Fabregas) falls out of love with his longtime partner, M. John says he and M (Niccolo Manahan) are “fundamentally different” and they break up, much to M’s protestation. John meets a woman called W (Jenny Jamora) who he has sex and falls in love with. The problem: John is still in love with M.
Red Turnip, a new theater company in the Philippines, has adapted Bartlett’s critically-acclaimed Cock — winner of the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre — while maintaining the English dialogue.
Rem Zamora, who took on the challenge to direct the 90-minute long play, said he spared his actors from uttering their lines in a British accent to appeal to the predominantly Filipino audience.
However bare and minimalist the stage was, the production was able to excite the audience who were seated around the circular stage. The production used only one chandelier for lighting and to cue in the next sequence. There were no props, and the visualization was left to the imagination of the viewers.
The actors were all what the play needed to flesh out the script. The acting ensemble — which consisted of Fabregas, Manahan, Jamora, and Audie Gemora, who plays M’s father — was commendable and each fit his or her role quite well. They did not have to resort to histrionics to make up for the absence of props and equipment. The delivery of their lines, their countenance and gestures were strong enough to draw the attention of the viewers.
Fabregas played a perturbed gay man caught between two lovers. His character was confused, and Fabregas’ innocent-looking mien made his role effective and his character almost pitiful. But he made too much an effort delivering his lines that the audience sometimes missed his intention whether to be funny or sad.
Crestfallen, M shines through as an overbearing ex-boyfriend, well played by Manahan. Manahan fit the bill of M who has the trappings of a typical sassy gay man. He talked fast that he sometimes stumbled over some of the words, but he was able to pick himself up quickly.
Gemora, meanwhile, brought in the air of a Robert de Niro — cool and a little bit smug. He kept his equanimity through the entire play as he tried to console his son. His character is funny, but Gemora, playing it too cool, made his character look like an ornament that he got thrown off the side by the other actors.
But the real deal here would have to be Jenny Jamora. The only woman in the play, she was able to stand out with her smooth delivery of lines. Jamora was able to make W (who married at 23 and divorced two years later, and had not found love since) desperate without having to beg for sympathy.
Cock‘s issue is not so much with homosexuality, or rather the imposition of a strict, heteronormative society. In fact, it does not tackle any of that. The environment in which the characters live is tolerant and accepting: W does not care that John is gay and have had not any experience with women; and M’s father, F, accepts his son for who he is and even helps him get back with John. The issue, however, as M puts it, is that John is in love with two persons at the same time.
The play explores the sexual identity of a character who does not seem to be caught up with labels and gender classification, and although sure in his identity, entertains love in all its forms. It happens to all of us that love, however strange, is an infection that gets the better of us.
The play is funny and witty, and the same time, sharp and biting.
The story cuts across genders and diminishes labels to be able to touch the viewers and let them see themselves through the characters. And I guess this is why Bartlett had chosen not to name most of them.
Cock is at Whitespace (Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati, from 7 Mar-6 Apr (various timings). To purchase a ticket, go to TicketWorld.
Photo: Topper Fabregas and Niccolo Manahan play ex-lovers in ‘Cock.’
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