When I heard of Living with the Lights On at first, I thought it sounded a bit like a modern interpretation of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus – man having a pretty tough time of it has a chance encounter with the Devil – so far, so similar. It actually surprised me a lot more than Faustus. Mark Lockyer disarms the audience by greeting us individually in the foyer and directing us to the stage where we sit on assorted mismatched chairs in a semi-circle sipping tea and munching on Hobnobs (I’ve already decided my review will be a good one).
This charming introduction to the play segues into a warm welcome to the North Wall Theatre, with Lockyer describing how having the audience on-stage breaks down the artificial barrier between actor and audience. He tells us that it’s not really a play that we’ve come to see, but that he intends to tell us a story … which he proceeds to do.
What follows is a warm-hearted, often laugh-out-loud-funny one-man performance, as Lockyer begins his tale in a flat in Putney, starting with the day his life changed. He leaps from character to character with an impressive dexterity in voice-acting, and succeeds in drawing the audience into a warm, humorous narrative which culminates in Lockyer pulling the metaphorical rug out from under our collective feet.
Without giving away anything of the narrative arc or ending, it’s safe to say that Mark’s story surprises and shakes the listener. The raw openness of his tale is startling, and when he leaves the stage, I want to do nothing more than find him and hug him. Without ever falling into saccharine or maudlin, this is confessional drama at its absolute best. ★★★★★ @BookingAround 10th March 2016
