REVIEW: BREEDING by Barry McStay at King’s Head Theatre 19 April – 7 May 2023

 

‘An important story - but too many distractions’ ★★★

I was excited to see Breeding. The premise promised to explore two important themes as part of what the King’s Head are calling their Queer Interrogation season: a same-sex couple navigating the trials and tribulations of how to adopt a child, and the question of what to do once you’ve met ‘the one’ and settled down with them.

The play sees Zeb (Dan Nicholson) and Eoin (writer Barry McStay) having to jump over the bureaucratic hurdles so that Beth (Aamira Challenger) might approve their application to adopt a child. Cue a perhaps predictable but still hilarious opening seen where Zeb and Eoin meet her for the first time and try to persuade her that they will be good parents, whilst awkwardly trying too hard to seem nice and normal; the biscuits definitely aren’t there to bribe her.

There are various conflicts for the characters to resolve in the storyline: not only must they win Beth over, Eoin must overcome his awkwardness when revealing his innermost thoughts and secrets. The couple are asked cringeworthy questions – do you watch pornography, how often, and what kind? – which makes Eoin curl up like a woodlouse, but which much cooler Zeb revels in explaining. But Zeb is less sure about having a baby in the first place; the play is interspliced with flashback scenes, so we see their first meeting in a club, through to Eoin’s proposal-like asking of Zeb on Hampstead Heath if he would like to start a family with him.

The other subplot, however, felt too distracting to be convincing. It is hinted throughout that Zeb has an illness, later revealed to be cancer, which they hide from Beth as telling her would scupper their chances of adoption. Ultimately, Beth finds out due to a plot contrivance: Beth’s partner works at the hospital where Zeb is being treated, and recognises his file due to his unusual name, which they know because Beth has got along so well with the couple that she’s told her partner all about them.

At this point, my heart sank a little: I feel that there is a whole other story to be told, about a couple coping with one of them suffering from a terminal illness, and coping with loss. The play was not long enough or weighty enough to deal with these themes – but it shouldn’t have to. It could explore these two characters more, their relationship, their desires and anxieties about becoming fathers. This twist felt like a second play was trying to hijack the original one, meaning that its main concern was sidelined. The save here came from an impassioned speech from Zeb, also delivered fantastically by Nicholson, when Beth tells them they won’t be able to adopt: the point made that straight couples can have a child after a one-night stand, whilst they, as a same-sex couple, have to prove themselves as worthy, was spot on.

There were lots of special moments in this play: all the characters were performed convincingly, especially the shyer, more awkward Eoin. Beth asks him how they might teach a child about death, his answer of ‘You get them a pet…Not to kill it!’ revealed some nice comedic timing and counterbalance to the themes. The final scene was also very touching and suggested a different way of bringing up a family. But the play was biting off more than it needed to, and I wanted to see the main premise explored without distractions.

Breeding
Written by Barry McStay
King’s Head Theatre
19^th April – 7^th May
  https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding

Presented by Gabriella Sills Productions

Reviewed by Jonny Kemp