As we enter Candy’s debut London home, Park Theatre, we are invited into a wonderfully transformed space. Park90 is now a technicolour cabaret bar bedecked with party curtains and a disco ball – and Love Heart sweets on each seat, which do lead to some rather frustrating audience fiddling. Nevertheless, the stage is set for one of the most unique and important narratives of masculinity and sexuality that I’ve seen- told in a 75-minute showcase of immense talent.
Will (Michael Waller) seems to be your typical lad. His days are spent drinking pints with the boys, chatting up girls and taking the mick out of his great aunt. We soon learn he possesses great inner turmoil as he grapples with his purpose in society and his pessimistic views on love. When he falls in love with Candy, his best-mate Billy in drag, he must confront haunting questions about the man he is and the man he may love.
Candy is a terrifically fresh perspective on increasingly popular conversations around toxic male culture and sexuality. Will is a Yorkshire local and this characterisation shines an important light on differences in treatment of male mental health across our country. We learn about toxic male cultures where boys must leave home in order to truly escape the burdens of male stereotypes. It is truly promising that this perspective is given a platform in Tim Fraser’s script – which feels like a quiet call to action to everyone in the room. Although a little repetitive at times, the script is continuously sincere and in its most tender moments, creates a pin-drop silence where I feel Fraser’s intentions are realised by everyone around me.
Geraldine, Will’s great aunt, receives a tremendous storyline that is testament to Fraser’s talent as a writer. In few sentences, complex notions of what it means to love and be loved are explored that polish Candy off with heart-warming flare. Tender moments like these triumph over Candy’s comedy which is a little expository at times. Still, it is easy to praise this script which I have much respect for.
Performer and producer, Michael Waller’s, respect for this clever writing is also evident in his thoughtful and precise performance. Each word is considered as he navigates Will’s turbulent monologue. Waller does inhabit a stiffness as Will, and I was never sure if it was intentional or not. While at times it works, there are points where it creates distance between him and a truthful emotional connection and tends to make Fraser’s jokes a little ‘Dad Joke-esque’. Being a touch more relaxed could turn Waller’s performance into a one-man masterclass.
It seems talent runs in the Waller family as brother, Stephen Waller’s, original music provides Candy with soundtrack worthy of expressing the escapism that is self-expression. Jonathan Chan’s lighting design is a standout and is hugely effective in illuminating the many topics brought to life in Candy.
Candy is a trailblazer of its genre. There isn’t a man in my life I wouldn’t recommend it to. ‘The lads’ deem Billy a “southern fairy” for being a creative in London. Well, as a creative in London, I get to see theatre like Candy, so I’ll be a “southern fairy" any day.
Candy is at Park Theatre until 9 September.
Photo Credit: Ali Wright
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