★★★½
New York playwright S. Asher Gelman’s Afterglow arrives at the Eternity Playhouse in Darlinghurst after a Melbourne premiere season. Sleek, sensual and provocative, it’s a high-gloss production about the complications of polyamorous relationships and the messiness of love.
Afterglow wastes no time, diving right into the physical. It opens with three silhouetted figures behind a sheer curtain, moving and moaning in a threesome. When the curtain lifts, we see three men, fully naked. They are bold in their vulnerability, if a little nervy and shaky to start with.
The play follows Josh (Matthew Mitcham) and Alex (Julian Curtis), a married Manhattan couple in their 30s expecting a surrogate baby, who invite Darius (Matthew Predny), a 25-year-old massage therapist, into their bed. When feelings complicate what was meant to be purely physical, the three men must confront the real demands of desire, commitment and the harder work of truth.
Based on the writer’s own experiences, the play was written in 2016 to make sense of a situation that nearly destroyed Gelman’s marriage. Gelman wanted to explore the tricky territory of polyamory and the “honesty and transparency” needed to love more than one person successfully. He brings most of his production team, including set and lighting designers, to Australia to offer up the conundrum of love and lust to Aussie audiences.
Ann Beyerdorfer’s set design is slick and brilliantly adaptable, allowing for simple, fluid-like transitions between places. The entire production floats within a space that feels suspended and malleable. Everything takes place within this cube, making the characters, perhaps deliberately, seem detached from the outside world, absorbed in the joys and struggles of their throuple.
The large shower head in the centre of the stage is particularly distinct as a piece of staging, used effectively in fun, intimate or emotional moments. The running water creates a slightly clichéd but effective breakdown moment when Mitcham crouches under it as he unravels, torn between two men he wants to be with.
Jamie Roderick’s lighting bathes the characters and set in sultry purple, pink and blue hues, giving a mix of Flashdance and 9½ Weeks vibes. Disco light washes across the stage, bouncing off gleaming ultra-smooth bodies, part underground club, part early-noughties music video. Occasionally, it feels like a promo for a lubricant, but, in combination with the set and sound, it works effectively.
Alex Mackyol’s sound design works beautifully, with pulsating transitional pieces that give an underground club feel. Sonically, the play draws you into the cool pulse of disco clubland. Recognisable beats like Robyn’s Dancing on My Own lands with easy pleasure.
The choreographed sequences that help to transition between scenes are particularly intriguing. Gelman holds a BA and MFA in Dance, and his passion for movement is evident throughout. Actors effortlessly move between scenes, dancing fluidly with each other while transforming the space around them. These dance interludes, despite coming off slightly disjointed in the context of the play overall, give the drama an intriguing unique element.
Matthew Mitcham, Olympic diving champion, is particularly adept with the choreography and clearly has confidence in how he moves. All actors have a beautiful command of their physicality and commit bravely to the vulnerability required.
Julian Curtis is grounded and nuanced as Alex, the steadiest anchor in the play. He gives time between lines and lets private thoughts flash across his face. His mid-play monologue, recalling a childhood visit to New York, is a standout moment, allowing the fast-paced, quip-filled story to breathe for a minute.
Matthew Predny, as the selected third partner in the relationship, brings that buoyant vulnerability we often have in our mid-20s. Naïve and eager. Mitcham brings a lot of posturing, posing and flouncing early on. As the play progresses, however, he finds real emotional weight, expressing inner turmoil and desperation.
There’s a strong focus on the physicality in Afterglow, and the dialogue can veer toward the literal, with lines like “I deserve more than you give me!” While at times it feels rushed, the actors bring enough boldness and commitment to carry the story through.
The play works to move beyond its skin-deep surface, if a little too late in the piece. In the third act, led well by Curtis, the messy complications of love see the characters unravelling in ways that feel real and relatable.
Afterglow is a glistening foray into the world of polyamory and how love tests us. There’s electric sensuality, committed performances and enough human truth to keep you watching.
Afterglow is presented by Midnight Theatricals and runs to 22 March at the Eternity Playhouse. Burton Street Darlinghurst NSW 2010.
Tickets can be found here.
Website: https://www.afterglowplay.com/australia
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/afterglowtheplay/
Photo credits: Cameron Grant
