STUFF Review – Cancer, infertility and b**lock yoghurt

[All images courtesy of My Beating Heart Theatre Company Facebook page] 

A couple experiencing fertility issues are visited by a friend with terminal cancer. Thus goes the simple, but affecting premise of theatre company My Beating Heart’s latest play, STUFF, which has been a hit on the festival circuit, winning Audience Favourite at last year’s 24:7 Theatre Festival. The synopsis may sound rather grim, but by twentieth crude euphemism for sperm (‘manly marmalade’, ‘father lava’ etc.) you realise writer Mick Cooper is definitely seeking levity in the tragedy.

STUFF takes place over one awkward, drunken evening when husband and wife Toby and Jess receive an unexpected offer from terminally ill friend Xav: he has frozen his sperm as a ‘goodbye present’ to end their fertility problems. There’s a risk this kind of story might end up stiflingly talky, but Cooper’s naturalistic dialogue keeps things brisk and balances the humour and pathos effortlessly. Not all of the jokes hit their mark, but those that do are tear-inducingly funny, which is perhaps appropriate for the subject matter.

The play’s highlight is a drinking-game variation of 20 Questions that should surely become a staple of every university halls of residence party. “Are you a man?” asks Xav and you can sense Toby’s fierce humiliation when he has to admit he’s not. It’s a clever sequence, elevated by finely-judged acting. All three actors are strong, but the clear standout is Eve Burley as Jess. In the smallest role, she grounds the play with warmth and believability.

It was a small audience at the New Bradford Playhouse last week, but those present were treated to a gem of a play. Let’s hope more people visit the Etcetera Theatre in Camden this weekend to see this funny, spunky little piece.

Joe Saxon

@JoeSaxonWrites

Check out TSOTA’s interview with STUFF writer and founder of MBT Theatre company, Mick Cooper.