Review: FRANK AND PERCY at The Other Palace, London

 


Tickets: Paid for

Date: 22nd October 2023 

Seat: E1

Rating: 4 Stars

Frank and Percy, a new play by Ben Weatherill and directed by Sean Mathias, is a beautiful story of friendship and love and how one can become the other (and vice versa). It’s sweet and playful, but that’s not to say there aren’t some truly heart-breaking moments in there as well. It’s everything life is distilled down into a two-hour two-hander, and it’s just what’s needed to lift the spirits and bring a smile to your face. 


Frank and Percy, two older gentlemen, meet while walking their dogs (Frank has Toffee and Percy has Bruno – neither dog is ever technically seen, but Weatherill’s writing and the convincing performances by Ian McKellen as Percy and Roger Allam as Frank are enough for the audience to see them nonetheless). That’s the setup, and that’s the beauty of Frank and Percy; it’s so simple, but there’s still a lot it has to say. 


Frank is a recent widower and retired history teacher. Percy is a professor and writer. And although the pair might seem like an odd match for friendship or anything else (Percy is out and proud, flamboyant and loud, while Frank is much more introverted and closed-off), it soon becomes clear that they’re perfect for one another. 


Over time, this friendship becomes something more, and this shift is executed so smoothly and cleverly that it all just seems inevitable, and yet even so, it was a delight when it finally happened. And the long, lingering kiss between Frank and Percy was so tender and sweet that the audience applauded it. After all, we’d been waiting for it as long as the men had. 



Weatherill’s script is gloriously funny, and this is a comedy, first and foremost. The one-liners that the actors come out with are witty and clever, sometimes a little vicious, sometimes much more loving, but always with a spark behind them that keeps the audience laughing throughout. Perhaps the funniest of the many funny scenes was when Percy helped Frank prepare for his first pride parade. From Percy’s ironically chosen soundtrack (“I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross) to McKellen’s show of stripping – yes, that’s right – down to his famous Some People Are Gay, Get Over It t-shirt, as well as Allam’s wonderfully awful rainbow shorts, it's a perfectly constructed scene that contains just the right amount of humour tinged with a touch of sadness for lost youth and the injustices of the past. 


McKellen and Allam are a joy together on stage, their chemistry making this great play into something even better. It’s lovely to see the pair falling in love and out of friendship for big reasons and small ones but ultimately finding they need one another in the end. 


Frank and Percy is beautiful theatre. 


Tickets are available here: https://theotherpalace.co.uk/frank-percy/

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