Foam - Finborough Theatre

[jgblunners]

Opens next week, directed by Matthew Iliffe who was behind Bacon (also ran at the Finborough, won a bunch of Offies). Looks like interesting subject-matter!

finboroughtheatre.co.uk/production/foam/

“You forget I knew you were a queer long before I knew you were a fascist.”

The world premiere

1973, a public lavatory. Nicky shaves his head, watched by an older man.

Publicly, Nicky is a skinhead. And a Neo-Nazi. But right now, in this place, that doesn’t matter.

He’s not the first man Nicky meets in a public toilet, and he won’t be the last…

Spanning twenty years and inspired by a true story, Foam examines the nature of identity and the consequences of right-wing extremist ideology against the backdrop of London’s skinhead and gay scenes of the 1970s and 1980s.

With right-wing extremism again on the rise, Foam confronts the flashpoint where the terrifyingly personal and the violently political collide.

[n1david]

I've booked for this - ages since I've been to the Finborough. What's the current situation with the downstairs bar/restaurant - is it open or not these days?

[dlevi]

I think the bar is only a lobby now - while they sort out if its a Pub or not.

[bee]

The bar's completely shut at the moment. You enter the theatre via a door on the right-hand side of the building (if approaching from Earls Court tube station). From there, head upstairs for the box office and theatre, downstairs for the toilets.

[n1david]

Saw this last night and thought it was decent. Excellent central performance by Jake Richards and good supporting roles but the play's format, five vignettes of Crane's life from 1974 to 1993, makes for a disjointed evening. Seen in its entirety one can take it as a complete portrayal of Crane's life but I found it rather slow and unsatisfying during the show.

To my shame I did not know that Nicky Crane, the central character, was a real person and I got rather more from this BBC article afterwards than I did the play.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25142557

[Libby]

Seeing this next week! It looks like it has gotten mixed reviews but the set looks really great. Looking forward to it!

[showqueen]

I'm going next week and will report back. Looks like this might be a difficult play but there are some raves, including from The Stage and Arts Desk. Interesting that the professional critics have praised it and the bloggers/enthusiasts seem to be more divided.

[wannabedirector]

Caught this tonight, and thought it was really fascinating. Dark, and morally knotty, it’s probably not one for the faint hearted. Anchored by an incredibly strong lead performance from Jake Richards, and with equally strong supporting performances, especially from Kishore Walker, I’m glad I got round to this.

[mkb]

Mar 27, 2024 9:57:43 GMT n1david said:

Saw this last night and thought it was decent. Excellent central performance by Jake Richards and good supporting roles but the play's format, five vignettes of Crane's life from 1974 to 1993, makes for a disjointed evening. Seen in its entirety one can take it as a complete portrayal of Crane's life but I found it rather slow and unsatisfying during the show.

To my shame I did not know that Nicky Crane, the central character, was a real person and I got rather more from this BBC article afterwards than I did the play.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25142557

I completely agree with that, other than I did not find it slow. I was engaged, but I struggled to understand the point. There are interesting issues skirted around that are not properly addressed:

- The incredible ability of the human mind to set aside personal ethics when sexually aroused;
- How violence itself can be a sexual driver and aphrodisac for some;
- The human need for identity and tribalism and belonging;
- The incredible empathy that gay men and others showed to one another during the AIDS crisis regardless of who they were.

Three stars.

One act: 15:08-16:27
(Seen Saturday matinée 6 April 2024)

[showqueen]

I caught this in its final week and thought it was excellent all round. A compelling, well acted play about a fascinating and difficult subject - a gay neo nazi. I agree with other members that it left many questions lingering and was inconclusive in that regard, but I thought that was the point. And anyway, I'm not sure how you would have tied all of the strands of the play up without moralising the whole thing.

[n1david]

Apr 17, 2024 20:54:16 GMT showqueen said:

I agree with other members that it left many questions lingering and was inconclusive in that regard, but I thought that was the point. And anyway, I'm not sure how you would have tied all of the strands of the play up without moralising the whole thing.

That's a good point. Given that Nicky Crane was a real person, and he never explained his own contradictions, I suppose that it would be inappropriate for a play to come to some sort of resolution. I must say the play has lingered with me since I saw it, and I probably think more of it now than I did immediately leaving the theatre. It has been well regarded; I hope it has a future life.