Of all the politics in the world, sexual politics is perhaps the most difficult to navigate especially when the initial thrill has gone. It is bad enough when sex has become a chore, a lie back and think of England job, where you have to fantasise about Scottish heroes from the 17th century to get you through it. Yet for Frank (Simon Naylor) and Sophie (Alexandra Maxwell) sex isn’t even that. They have completely stopped doing it and are visiting a sex therapist to see if they can sort out their love life. Are sex and love the same thing they ask? Can you have one without the other?
Frank is full of one-liners and bravado. He is definitely up for it and can’t understand why Sophie does not want to have sex with him anymore. Why does she fancy Jamie from Outlander and prefer to read gothic love novels when she should be having sex with him? She points out these are fiction, a fantasy, and says to him, “You’re like real, real and that is disgusting.”
There are many neat comic observations about the mundanities of two people living together. Their imperfections are laid bare – he leaves hairs on the soap, and she clogs the shower with hers. She accuses him of being jealous when they are shopping at Tesco and he says it is her fault he watches porn on his laptop.
This is all entertainingly done without losing sight of the conflict at the play’s heart. Frank is the more vulnerable character, but there is no sense that the writer (Ian Watson) is necessarily taking sides. We can see how the two of them have stopped communicating with each other, and all seems lost.
In the second half, the play gets deeper and darker. We meet Frank and Sophie a few years later after the sex therapy session. Here, we realise the demons at the heart of their relationship, which nearly led to a tragedy. Ironically, they are now able to talk to each other in a way they were unable to before. There is frankness, and honesty, with each other, and more importantly themselves.
Simon Naylor as Frank was able to move seamlessly from the brash and brazen character at the start to the more exposed person we see later. It was an intelligent portrayal of a lost and lonely soul who only wanted to be loved by the woman he loved.
Alexandra Maxwell brought sensitivity to a character who at first seems to be rather hard-faced and unforgiving. We see she is displaying the same sort of bravado as her husband and yet she is just as defenceless as he is. She is wounded and finds it difficult to navigate her way through that pain and the world.
It is worth seeing as it is a funny, entertaining and gently moving play which touches on some important themes, not least male mental health. The play is supporting Andy’s Man Club, a men’s suicide prevention charity, where men can talk openly about their mental health.
It is on at 53two until 9th November – https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/53two/frank-4-sophie-4-eva/e-depopo
For more on Andy’s Man Club – https://andysmanclub.co.uk
Reviewer: Adam Williams
Reviewed: 30th October 2024
North West End UK Rating: