The gutsiest thing that a play can possibly do is to strip it down to its barest elements and just let it be all about the dialogue and the acting. In this sense Red Turnip’s second play, intriguingly titled Cock, is very unique although the play is distinct in many other aspects as well.

Directed by Rem Zamora (Romeo & Bernadette by The Repertory Philippines), the story is about a young gay man named John (Topher Fabregas – The Producers by Repertory Philippines) who has been involved for a long time with an older man named, I assume for simplicity’s sake, M (Niccolo Manahan – Doubt by Atlantis Productions). Their relationship is one that has long been defined and is not easily challenged: M is the boss and John is the willing follower. While it is clear that they do love each other deeply, it is also apparent that when they get into one of their fights, they do not hold back and go straight for the emotional jugular, uncaring if they hit below the proverbial belt.

During one of these fights, both parties go too far and they break up. It is during this short break that John meets W (Jenny Jamora – A Little Night Music by Atlantis Productions) with whom he shares an instant connection and falls in love. For the first time in a very long time, John experiences being confident in a relationship because W, unlike M, is very nurturing and allows him to be something that he’s never been before: in charge.

Terrified of all the unknowns and possibilities that W represents, John goes back to M and asks for another chance, giving M an altered version of what happened with W. Infuriated by John’s inability to give a specific details, M sarcastically offers to host a dinner and invite W so that they could straighten out the mess once and for all. W agrees to come but only because John has told her an altered version of the story with M as well. The horrible dinner commences but things get even more awkward when M’s father, F, (Audie Gemora – The Producers by Repertory Philippines) shows up on the doorstep to be in the aid of his beloved son.

As these are all seasoned actors, the performances were all exceptionally strong and the lack of any props provided no hindrance at all. Kudos to Rem Zamora’s awesome directing that all parts of the “theater” were able to see the actors’ faces; they kept on moving around the tiny arena so all angles were covered. Because the actors only had a scrap of red carpet as a stage, they very often get up and in each other’s faces. I especially liked that they used the dinging of a bell to separate the scenes; it definitely helped in getting the audience in the mood to watch a fight.

I also liked the little feminine touches (the posture, the tiny hand flicks) that both Manahan and Fabregas added to their persons; they were subtle but it really helped set the vibe of their genders. Fabregas played John with deadly precision; you’d want to strangle him one minute and give him a big hug the next. He was able to portray the character as somebody who’s well and truly confused, and if ever he did drop some lies along the way, you’d believe him when he says that he didn’t mean to do it. I don’t even know he managed to get the character to be likable after all the deceit. Manahan was sufficiently bitchy at the right places and at first I thought he was just playing the typicaly cliche’d modern gay man, but I actually teared up when he finally opened up and showed M’s vulnerable side. It sounds silly, but the cattiness actually helped accentuate the parts when he was laying all it all out there.

Jamora’s W was a good match for Manahan’s M; she was soft where he was hard, caring and unfearful of showing emotions when M wasn’t. W was likable and immensely relatable; it wasn’t a difficult idea to sell that a man who’s known all his life that he was gay could possibly fall in love with a woman like W. Gemora’s F only showed up at the last half hour or so of the play but the presence was definitely felt; he was able to throw in more confusion to the mix and even though some of the stuff he was saying was technically a bit sexist, you understand that the intent came from a good place. I especially liked the way he projected his voice and enunciated his words – the whole theater could hear him clearly even though the character was doing one of those stage whispers.

All in all Red Turnip’s Cock was extremely interesting to watch and I hope they continue to produce more shows like this. The actors were more or less on the same level, talent wise, and they were all fearless to just go for it, which as an audience was particularly refreshing to watch. The story isn’t something that’s never been heard of before, but at the same time it’s also something that happens so rarely that there it is still worth exploring.

*Photocredits: Red Turnip’s Facebook page.