king’s head theatre – Hamza Jahanzeb

A first for me happened on Tuesday 25th April as I made my way from work to Islington. I was gearing up to attend a press night performance of Breeding at the King’s Head Theatre. Based in a rather lovely-looking pub (I’ll try the food and drink another time), it actually opened over five decades ago in 1970 and claims to be the oldest theatre pubs since Shakespearean times.

This new play is part of the The Takeover: A Queer Interrogation season featuring a curated selection (by Tom Ratcliffe) that focuses on telling LGBTQI+ stories whilst also highlighting and celebrating the importance of new writing – from work-in-progress one nighters to 3 weeks of a fully fledged runs.

** Check out the entire programme – BOOK NOW FROM £10 **

We’re not the new normal. We’re the new f*cking extraordinary.

Zeb & Eoin have met, kissed, fallen in love, moved in, got married…

What’s next? Zeb will be Fun Daddy. Eoin will be Serious Daddy.

Beth’s job is to decide if they get to be Daddies at all.

Together they navigate the exposing road to adoption, forced to lay bare fears and secrets, all in the hope of being deemed “appropriate” parents.

As a fan of short no-interval plays, Breeding is a tight piece that sets the scene from the very start. We meet the couple Zeb and Eoin – played convincingly by Dan Nicholson and Barry McStay – as they embark on the new stage of their life: to be fathers. There is no handbook for men to be parents, and as they are not going to face an easy ride. In fact, far from it. The stark differences of the couple shines a light on the plurality of gay men, and this was rather welcoming in its portrayal. Whilst one (read Zen) wants to do drugs and have group sex, I liked the element of an Irish character whose religious and traditional upbringing isn’t seen to be belittling.

Written by Barry McStay (Vespertilio), this play embarks on a subject that really will make you think “They think we’re groomers” at a time of heightened online and physical violence against the LGBTQIA+ community; having said this, there are funny one-liners and whilst the end wasn’t one I wanted, it was powerful. There were not dry eyes in the crowd, and the visible reaction was facilitated by the convincing portrayals by the actors as well as a superb execution by irected by Matthew Iliffe in the direction.

Furthermore, the lighting design was clever and utilised the space well. The periods of when all actors were lit up (be it from the glass floor – which was both camp and effective – or the bathed light of a flashback) seemed to prove to bring heightened sensory reaction throughout. I have to also commend Amir Challenger who played Beth – the social worker whose work is being tasked with approving or disproving the couple in their wish to adopt. At times, the storyline concerning her partner didn’t feel believable, but the scenes with the interrogation of Zen & Eoin were felt to be sincere.

All in all, Breeding shines a light on queer parenthood; something that is also more-often-than-not never talked about. That’s why I’m glad it exists and it will be an all-encompassing watch for those who prefer to see their microcosmic world portrayed on the stage. In the unique pub-theatre that is the King’s Head Theatre space, the privilege was all mine to escape into the couple’s world for an hour.

Until 7 May : Book Tickets: https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding

Listing information:

Zeb | Dan Nicholson
Eoin | Barry McStay
Beth | Aamira Challenger

TICKET PRICE

£10 – £27.50

Duration | 75 mins approx.

Age Guidance | 15+
Content Warnings | Strong language. References to homphobia, drug use, self-harm, illness, cancer, bereavement, infertility.