Reviewed by James Karas
In the opening scene of Afterglow, we see the outlines of three men behind a sheer curtain engaged in a wonderful sexual act. The curtain is removed, and we meet the three muscular young men, naked in loving embraces. They are content and happy in the climax of their encounter. The men are the married couple Alex (Victor Hugo) and Josh (Peter McPherson) and their visitor Darius (James Nicolson).
Josh and Alex are expecting a child from a surrogate mother and have an open marriage that means they can have sexual relations with other men provided it does not include sleepovers.
The inexperienced and young Darius falls in love with Josh and the latter reciprocates with the rationale that his relations with Alex are not as frequent as they used to be. Alex discerns what is happening and demands that Josh terminate his contact with Darius.
In other words, Afterglow is the classic story of a love triangle only this time it involves only men. There is a great deal of nudity and displays of affection among the men as the love between John and Alex is sorely tested as the love between Josh and Darius increases.
The author S. Asher Gelman is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, playwright, and director. Afterglow is his first play and it opened Off-Broadway in New York in 2017 and ran for 14 months. The play has received numerous productions through his company Midnight Theatricals. He directs and choreographs the current production in the Southwark Playhouse, London.
The play is a love story and a story about family. Josh and Alex initially take an open view of sex in their marriage with some limitations, but their main concern is the pending arrival of their child. The arrival of the handsome Darius acts as a disruption to the loving family and it shows the limits of free love. Josh complains that Alex has not been attentive to his emotional and sexual needs. Alex says he has work pressure and needs some air but that in no way diminishes his love and devotion to Josh. As they say, this is the classic triangle.
Darius is a young, inexperienced gay man who falls deeply in love with Josh and the situation among the three men reaches a climactic moment where a resolution is required.
The acting is superb. Victor Hugo as Alex is a hard-working chemist with a job that makes great demands on him. He tries to be understanding and accepting of his husband’s conduct, but it reaches a breaking point, and he demands that it cease. A superb performance by Hugo. McPherson as Josh is a successful actor with great emotional and sexual needs, and he feels that Alex is not fulfilling those needs the way he used to. Nicholson as Darius is an inexperienced gay man who falls in love with Josh and is open to be crushed if the relationship fails. A sensitive and nuanced performance.
The set by designer Ann Beyersdorfer is all black with small pieces of furniture rearranged by the cast to show Josh and Alex’s apartment, with a shower center-stage, and Darius’s place of work as a masseur and his apartment. All is done on a small stage with minimal changes. But the showers and lighting effects by Jamie Roderick are something to behold.
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Afterglow by S. Asher Gelman in a production by Midnight Theatricals opened on January 17 and will run until February 10, 2024 at the Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD. http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/
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