Buggers theatre review: Volatile power struggle
The destructive relationship between Francis Bacon and George Dyer is captured in all its violent intensity in an all-consuming and hard-hitting two-hander
Previously the subject of Love Is The Devil starring Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig, Buggers is an original play by Alistair Hall. Directed by Alice Wordsworth, this is a short, sharp two-hander about painter Francis Bacon (Hall) and his muse George Dyer (Peter Clements) that deftly escapes from under the shadow of its cinematic predecessor and quickly finds its own identity. The two men meet as part of the ‘rough trade’ of 1963 nightlife; Dyer is confident enough to disrupt Bacon in full flow lecturing to his artistic crowd, and the two can’t wait to get back to the artist’s rather crummy accommodation and exchange fluids.
These intimate acts are depicted with a basin of white fluid which the men drink, bathe in and fling at the canvas, or clear plastic screens helpfully placed on either side of the stage. This unexpected flow works for a see-saw narrative in which power ebbs and flows between artist and subject. Hall and Clements inhabit their characters successfully, and Buggers transcends the title’s confrontational vulgarity to vividly recount an age-old story of love lived and lost.
Buggers, Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 August, 1.20pm; plus 26 August, 2.40pm; picture: Giulia Ferrando.