Between
The King's Head Theatre
6th August 2014

★★★★☆

Whenever a show promises full-frontal nudity, the target audience immediately becomes wider than just regular theatregoers. Take Equus for example. Who came to see if Harry Potter could act on stage? Let's be honest, a significant number of Daniel Radcliffe fans came to see him get his kit off. It's not the purest of motivations but if the promise of the actors getting naked sees more people hoof it through the door, so be it, because Oskar Brown's play Between is a highly visceral story of love and loss which does deserve to be seen by lots of people. Indeed, it's already made the rounds in Africa and Scotland.

Between comprises of a series of vignettes about three unnamed pairs, all played by Nicholas Campbell and Brown himself: two young boys, an adult couple on the verge of breaking up, and a teacher and his protegé. The relationship between the two pupils is without a doubt the one which hits us the hardest - it's at times hilarious and others tragic.

When one of the boys persuades the other to indulge in a spot of mutual masturbation, he takes what he wants and then spreads rumours around school about the other. The sheer lack of emotional intelligence and cruelty displayed by Campbell's character provokes intense feelings of anger and upset, but perhaps the worst thing about it is that the reason why it's so heartbreaking is because it's so plausible.

The ignorant language which is bandied around, the callousness - the only thing missing to firmly set this play in the modern day is a video being distributed by the other pupils via WhatsApp and BB Messenger. Brown's character may or may not be gay, he's at an age where he's still experimenting, but he's certainly left destroyed by the way his "friend" offers him up to the baying crowds without a second thought. The brutality is so incredibly powerful and resonates with us.

With Brown always taking on the part of the more sensitive and complex one, and Campbell the less mature, the three different threads could almost be about the same couple at different stages of their lives. In a way, it feels like the same story is playing out in different periods with different incarnations of the same two souls - a bit like Cloud Atlas - and of course, as deeply personal and unique as love may feel to us, it's an endless cycle which every generation goes through. The idea of wanting to be loved is universal, but given we see three sets of people fail at finding happiness, whilst the play is relatable, it's so incredibly bleak.

Rejection is also seen in the relationship between the teacher and his charge, and the collapse of a long term pairing for no specific reason given. We see a slightly different kind of heartbreak with each couple, but it's always moving. In some ways, Brown is his own worst enemy. There's nothing wrong with the writing of these two couples, but due to the intensity of sentiment brought out from the earlier scenes with the schoolboys, the collapse of the other two relationships seems less powerful.

Director and designer Geoffrey Hyland signals the transition between scenes by having the men change their shirts on stage. It's a simple movement, and one which allows for more gratuitous flesh on show, but it's effective at separating out the characters. Shirt off, shirt on and immediately we see who is in front of us from the changed expression of both men. They switch characters back and forth without any difficulty.

It would be very easy to slap a "gay interest" label on this play, but even though Between does cover some issues very specific to homosexuality, it has a more universal reach. Despite the short 50 minute length, Between is a highly complex and poignant work with sizzling chemistry, which so happens to star two very good-looking men who perpetually undress in front of us. Come for the artistic intent, the nudity is a sexy bonus.

Between ran from 5th to 23rd August 2014 at the King's Head Theatre.

Nearest tube station: Highbury & Islington (Overground, Victoria)