When you go see a play entitled Cock you expect some groundbreaking transgressive content, perhaps sexual elements that push the boundaries of comfort. However, Mike Bartlett's brilliant play, transported from England to New York after an award winning run in The Royal Court Theater, never panders to any need for sensationalism. Instead he crafts a terrific contemporary play that puts much of other theater to shame. Cock tells the story of a gay couple who, when on a short break, one of the partners, John, falls in love with a woman. Bartlett appropriates one of the oldest storylines in literature, the love triangle, and provides a both hilarious and tender portrait of its contemporary relevance. Through this simple plot, Bartlett manages, deftly, to explore many exigent questions of identity, sexuality, our obsession with certainty, and our visceral discomfort with ambiguity.
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Mike Bartlett Contractions detonates the love triangle in this investigation of attraction, ambivalence, and commitment. John breaks up with his long-term boyfriend. In a world with so many ways to be happy, how do you know the right thing when you have it? A sizzling seriocomedy Why are you telling me I have to know what I am? Studio produces plays that reflect the contemporary world, and our plays frequently contain adult content. A razor-sharp look at politicking—or is that bullying? Reserve your space online.
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Y ou may, according to taste, find the title a come-on or a turn-off. But, far from being a sensational shocker, Mike Bartlett's play is a sharp, witty study of a man helplessly torn between his longtime male partner and a loving woman. Bartlett's theme, in fact, is less tortured bisexuality than the paralysing indecision that stems from not knowing who one really is.
Cast: 1f 3m. Staging: 'no scenery, no props, no furniture'. Apply for performing rights for this title. When John takes a break from his boyfriend, his accidentally meets the girl of his dreams. Filled with guilt and indecision, he decides there is only one way to straighten this out Mike Bartlett's metrosexual play about love and longing asks questions about who we are and who we want to be.
