To be completely honest, “Normal” isn’t a play I would necessarily choose to go and watch. If I had seen the play advertised online, and hadn’t known the actors involved, I would have dismissed it as “not my type of thing”. But I’m very glad I didn’t.
“Normal”, a one-man show written by and starring Tom Stevenson, tells the story of an unnamed protagonist who is an aspiring (but struggling) actor. Since discovering he is gay, his agent has continually put him forward for roles where the character is described as a “gay man”. But, as the protagonist tells us, “gay” isn’t a personality trait. There are lots of different types of gay people, and throughout the runtime of just over 45 minutes, Stevenson treats us to several different characters who all express their sexuality in different ways.
The play is framed by the protagonist preparing to audition for a TV role, and it is whilst waiting to be called in that the protagonist recalls several different anecdotes about his life, all relating to his sexuality in some way. The show is less of a “beginning-to-end” journey for the character, and more a collection of different scenes, although the play never feels disjointed, each tale smoothly leading into the next. The production, however, is far more than Stevenson sat on stage telling stories. As he recounts each tale, he embodies different characters, bringing different situations to life and making the stage feel alive with different personalities.
One of the more meaningful parts of the show saw the main character recall the funeral of his grandfather, mixing some black humour (and some all-too-accurate observations of the culture surrounding funerals) with emotional undercurrents as the character realises he never built up the confidence to come out to his grandfather, and now never will.
I was worried that a play featuring just one actor would feel boring, but it never did. In fact, the short runtime meant that the play felt that it was over too soon, although perhaps it’s better in this situation to leave the audience wanting more. If I had to make one criticism, it would be that, for my tastes, the production perhaps relied too much on swearing and vulgarity, playing the shock factor too often to try to garner laughs, when in fact some of the more nuanced comedic moments resulted in the bigger laughs of the evening.
Overall, this was another great success for Elemental Theatre Company (a company I was heavily involved with until last year), and everyone who helped bring this production to life (but especially Tom, of course) should be very proud. It’s always exciting when amateur theatre groups take risks like this, and I look forward to seeing where Elemental Theatre goes next.
“Normal” continues it’s tour next month, with performances in Leicester, Louth and Birmingham. Find out more on the ETC website: https://www.elementaltheatre.com/shows
Tom Morley, February 2023
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