Bleach At Vault Festival Is Limp And Lacking In Thrust

Bleach, The Vaults ★★☆☆☆

By Chris Bridges Last edited 69 months ago

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Last Updated 08 February 2019

Bleach At Vault Festival Is Limp And Lacking In Thrust Bleach, The Vaults 2

Stories about prostitution are as old as the oldest profession itself. Sadly, Dan Ireland-Reeves’ play about a rent boy is no great addition to the body of work and, in spite of the strip of Viagra that the protagonist carries, is limp and lacking in thrust.

Protagonist Tyler Everett takes a bag full of condoms, some lube and a surprisingly diminutive dildo and sells himself around Soho. Escaping his tedious provincial life, he’s found London to be less than it promised. Along with the drugs, clubbing and casual sex comes a dead end job in a Chinese restaurant, a failed relationship and a cupboard for a flat. Sadly for Tyler there’s also a violent incident on the horizon.

Dan Ireland-Reeve is endearing but there’s limited psychological insight here and some painfully clunky metaphors, along with a cumbersome script with little drive — despite the injection of some blood soaked horror. The play tries to cram way too much in to allow any of the elements the room to breathe. Just occasionally, there’s a flash of something fresh and original trying to break through, but on the whole it’s swamped within a lacklustre piece of theatre.

Bleach, The Vaults, Leake Street, SE1 7NN. Tickets £15, until 10 February 2019.