Gripping from start to finish, Animal is not to be missed.
Winner of the Through the Mill prize, and shortlisted for the Papatango Prize, Animal makes a rip-roaring arrival at London’s Park Theatre after its successful run in Manchester. Disability activist and equality trainer Josh Hepple approached writer Jon Bradfield with his idea for the play, centring around the rapidly blooming love life of twenty five year old David (Christopher John-Slater) – gay, disabled and profoundly horny.
David’s romantic odyssey is sparked by a familiar technological frustration, and resulting deeply unhelpful helpline conversation. David’s anger, however, is directed towards a sex toy designed with able-bodied consumers in mind. Living with cerebral palsy and unable to feed, shower or dress himself, this becomes the final straw. His flatmate Jill (Amy Loughton)’s annoyance at his carnally-motivated cancelling of their plans leads him to download grindr, after some hesitance in anticipation of people’s response to his disability. So begins a heartfelt and often hilarious quest for sex, love and connection, with all the highs and lows that come with navigating the online dating world.
David’s casual hook-ups include the lovely but very much married Bob (William Oxborrow), who interrupts their sex to call his husband and add deodorant to the weekly shopping list – ‘I’d forget my own head!’, he laughs – and the seriously weird Alan, who arrives with a Sainsburys bag and asks if he can put some meat in his fridge – ‘I dunno how long I’ll be here, and it’s reduced’. Amongst them is Liam, gorgeous, somewhat reserved, and harbouring severe body issues, becoming self-conscious at David’s open admiration. ‘You lie there like you’re the only one with stuff going on’, he fires back angrily in response to David’s questioning, ‘you’ve only known me an hour’. There is a beautiful reconciliatory moment when Liam asks David if he’d like to be picked up, to which David beams, ‘yeah!’ His utter joy and no small amount of delighted lust is apparent as Liam takes him in his arms.
David subscribes to the social model of disability, telling Liam he doesn’t have disabilities, he has the medical condition cerebral palsy. It is an ill-equipped society that disables him with physical and mental barriers, be it a building’s lack of level access or people’s attitudes to difference. Such attitudes have resulted in a generally shameful treatment of disability in the media, or else a tokenistic approach, with disabled characters portrayed as perfect, one-dimensional heroes, seemingly representative of the entire disabled community. Bradfield comments that ‘Josh’s willingness of this play into existence is, perhaps, a kind of activism, asserting not only that the central character in a play can be severely disabled, but also that they can be complex and flawed, and that the needs and relationships that arise from their impairments are a worthwhile source of drama and comedy’.
The formidably talented John-Slater is supported by a stellar cast. Harry Singh proves one to watch as both David’s friend Mani, an irresistible whirlwind of devastating one-liners and sage advice imparted from the club, and Jill’s boyfriend Michael, a North-London hipster whose studied zen is portrayed with hilarious accuracy. Park Theatre’s intimate stage is an ideal setting for the play’s domestic dramas to unfold, with Gregor Donnelly’s simple yet clever set and video designer Matt Powell’s effective representation of social media dating perfectly crafting the space into David’s world. Gripping from start to finish, Animal is not to be missed.