Written by Jack Holden. Directed by Sean Landis with Fraser Morrison
Astonishing, captivating and transformative. This sold out season of Cruise deserved all the praise it received
Reviewed by Justin Clarke
This season played at KXT on Broadway || 181 Broadway, Ultimo
Type: One-Actor, Queer, Clubby, Drama
If You Liked: Vanya, Prima Facie
Right in the midst of the lead up to Mardi Gras, Fruit Box Theatre brought a rollicking Olivier Award Winning play to KXT’s Broadway theatre that was both cognisant of the trauma within the Queer Community from the AIDS epidemic, and the beating heart that sits in the centre of the community itself. With an award-worthy performance by Fraser Morrison, it’s no wonder this production sold out its season.
Together, Morrison and Fruit Box Theatre’s Artistic Director Sean Landis staged a five star production that stood as an ode to the Queer Community’s insatiable appetite for empowering dance, sexual liberation, and above all, love.
Set in the heart of London’s Soho, Morrison’s one-actor performance transformed through countless characters, accents and eccentricities to weave two tales together, combining time and space into one singular moment in the theatre.
Michael Spencer faces his last night on earth, having been diagnosed with HIV in 1984 he’s running towards the end of his four year life expectancy. One final night of partying lays ahead of him as we journey from Michael’s initial introduction to the Queer nightlife scene of London’s 1980’s as he jumps from house to house, lover to lover, and finds true companionship amongst the changing landscape of the club scene.
Chelsea Wheatley‘s sound design was electric and all encompassing. In the intimacy of the KXT space, you felt as if nothing else existed beyond the four walls. Combined with Morrison’s ability to transport the packed audience through the tale itself, the mixture of sound, as well as Tom Hick‘s hypnotic and chaotic lighting design had the ability to pull us into the pages of Jack Holden‘s immense script.
It wouldn’t be a cliché to say that Morrison gave a tour-de-force in his performance. In fact, it’d be a well deserving cliché if anything. Similar to Andrew Scott‘s ability to morph between Chekhov’s wide array of characters in Vanya, Morrison embodied each person with an immensity of life and accuracy. So much so that you could see, and eventually recognise, every person that entered the story. It was nothing short of astonishing.
The season itself sold out and is now finished, but should Cruise ever be re-staged, you best be prepared to get tickets booked quick lest you miss out again.
Theatre Thought: The form of the one-person artist has grown exponentially in recent years. Done right, could this style of artform have more impact than traditional theatre?
Director Sean Landis with Fraser Morrison
Production / Sound Designer Chelsea Wheatley
Assistant Production Designer Lucy Doherty
Lighting Designer Tom Hicks
Accent / Dialect Coach Linda Nicholls-Gidley
Movement Director Jeremy Lloyd
Stage Manager: Caitlyn Cowan
Assistant Stage Manager Alice Chao
Cinematographer Anna McGirr
Photographer Abraham de Souza
Community Consultants Helen Fraser, Jonny Seymour and Wilfred Roach
Producer Hana Truban
Assistant Producer Louis Walker
