Love Story Told Fast And Furious

The Age

Friday March 21, 2008

Cameron Woodhead, Reviewer

HOLDING THE MAN

Adapted by Tommy Murphy from the book by Timothy Conigrave, Griffin Theatre Company with Melbourne Theatre Company, at CUB Malthouse, March 19, until April 14 Running time: 150 minutes

WHEN Timothy Conigrave came to write his memoir, he approached the task with candour. There was no time for deceit - he knew he was dying. And it was the author's frankness and passion for life, as much as the extraordinary love story he told, that made Holding The Man such a powerful legacy.

Conigrave grew up in Melbourne in the '70s. He fell in love with John Caleo at Xavier College - their relationship, a badly kept secret at the school, was surprisingly tolerated. Tim and John's parents were less accepting when they came out.

But this wasn't a phase. Their love endured - through the whirl of university, an emerging gay scene, infidelity and separation, and the torment of living with HIV/AIDS at a time when panic was widespread.

It seems a natural fit, adapting Holding The Man to the stage; Conigrave was a National Institute of Dramatic Art graduate and playwright. On the other hand, the book is much loved and the burden of remaining true to it is great.

Tommy Murphy's natural reaction has been to include as many vignettes as possible, and the production moves at a furious pace between a multitude of short scenes.

This has advantages and disadvantages. It preserves one of the striking features of the book, the sense that this is a tragedy rendered more poignant and terrible for being thrust on a man of naturally comic disposition. Yet it also predisposes the five actors, playing more than 20 characters, to moments of gross caricature.

Some are entertaining but it compromises drama and leaves no room for nuance. One scene, during a NIDA class, sees an instructor scolding Tim: "Effeminate monkeys don't get work!" But the stage business preceding it is so hysterical the ugliness of the remark is lost.

Director David Berthold does not restrain the excesses of the clowning. Fortunately, the core of this love story remains brutally intact. Guy Edmonds is a charming, tactless and hyperactive Tim; Matt Zeremes a gentle, laconic John. Their chemistry is remarkable.

The soul of the show comes at the end. After the energetic buffoonery, and puppetry depicting the ravages of AIDS, Edmonds steps up in the final scene to give a visceral portrayal of the rage and desolation of love lost. I doubt there was a dry eye in the house.

© 2008 The Age

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