Nuria Haering checks out one of the latest offerings from the London Fringe scene at King's Head Theatre.
Having first premièred to much acclaim at the 2008 Brighton Festival, comedic drama Lord Arthur's Bed will soon be gracing the stage of King's Head Theatre. It's only the second time that the gender-bending play has been performed in London and it looks set to kick up a storm in the intimate confines of Islington's trendy theatre pub.
What makes the story particularly intriguing are its two interweaving, time-hopping storylines. The first concerns Jim and Donald, contemporary city professionals who have just entered a civil partnership. The second takes place in 1868 and follows wealthy cross-dressers Ernest (Stella) and Fred (Fanny) as they celebrate Stella's 'marriage' to Lord Arthur Clinton MP. Questions of morality and progress are addressed in a dramatisation of the pair's public trial, which gripped the nation a full quarter-century before Oscar Wilde's notorious fall from grace.
Writer and director Martin Lewton is a leading gay playwright and has had nineteen prior works performed professionally. Production company Theatre North, based in Brighton and Yorkshire, has cast actors with more than enough credentials. Ruraidh Murray (Jim) has been praised for previous roles in adaptations such as Trainspotting, while Spencer Charles Noll (Donald) won an award for his performance of the part at the play's staging in Dublin last year.
While many references have been made to its occasional nudity and depictions of gay sex, Lord Arthur's Bed is first and foremost an intelligent drama exploring the sexual attitudes of society and individuals alike. The dialogue and action set out to incite more than just shock or laughter, inviting the audience to think critically about the issues it tackles. For theatregoers seeking to venture outside of the West End, this sounds like a very promising bet.
Lord Arthur's Bed runs at King's Head Theatre from 02.03.10 until 12.04.10
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