Hidden away down a graffiti filled tunnel minutes away from Waterloo station lies The Vaults, a cracking space for fringe theatre events and fresh pieces of artistry and performance. Within this year’s line-up is Full Disclosure Theatres latest project: Open, a two hander show written and performed by a real-life couple, exploring the tale of two husbands, one hundred lovers and modern day romance.
I attended their opening night of the production on Wednesday 23rd January, which just so happened to be the debut day of the festival itself, now entering its seventh successful year in Waterloo. Naturally there was an infectious buzz throughout the venue, and everyone was ready to delve into the lives of Christopher Adams and Timothy Allsop.
Being a gay man myself, I was very intrigued to learn more about a first-hand experience being in a modern day open gay relationship; something that I have personally never come into contact with. And through a mix of verbatim, storytelling and real-life comedy drama, that is exactly what we received. The play began at the couple’s first meeting and continued chronologically throughout their relationship to the current day. They explained when and why they first agreed to go “open”, and invited us into an exploration of their love, jealousy and desire for one another, and the 130+ other men they have encountered along the way.
