Christopher Walker reviews Foam at the Finborough Theatre

The 1970s were an unpleasant interlude in our history characterized by a stagnant economy, soaring inflation, and political divisiveness. Sound familiar?

To add to the horror there was also a rise of the Far-Right. Not how we now label people who are often simply ‘off-message.’ But genuine Neo-Nazi skinheads, complete with sieg heils, and violence.

Harry McDonald’s new play Foam, at the ever-inventive Finborough Theatre, concerns one such character, Nicky. Giving the story a noticeable twist by making him gay.

The title is a somewhat obscure reference to Enoch Powells notorious racist speech warning of an anti mass immigration backlash “foaming with much blood.”

If you’re already worried about being offended I should add that the entire performance is set in a series of public conveniences. Conjured up by Nitin Parmar’s well-executed set, complete with a noisy drip and urinal (warning – don’t be last to your seat or you’ll sit next to it).

But don’t be put off. McDonald shows promise as a writer. This is an interesting piece, not least thanks to a strong performance by Jake Richards as Nicky, complete with red braces and bovver boots. We glimpse underlying vulnerability beneath the surface aggression. Can a skinhead be objectified?

The play is tightly constructed with a series of encounters between him and various more assured gay characters.

The first is a bizarre aristocrat who calls himself Mosley (Matthew Baldwin) and sounds and dresses in strict imitation of the British Fascist Leader. At one point I wondered if he was meant to be Oswald himself in spirit form, but a quick check on the play’s text tells me it was just an imitator.

Mosley lures Nicky into the Far-Right world of Doc Martens and violent sexual encounters, though it has to be said he has a willing victim.

Other characters Nicky encounters over his troubled career include a zeitgeist photographer (Kishore Walker), a black fellow ex-con (Keanu Adolphus Johnson), and a final sympathetic character (Matthew again), possibly the only true partner Nicky ever has.

It’s not easy viewing, but it is thought-provoking.  https://finboroughtheatre.co.uk/production/foam/

Pictured top: Jake Richards in Foam (Picture: Craig Fuller)