COCK @ the Duke Theatre

This weekend was a plethora for thespian lovers.  Thankfully I saw Fugard's play MY CHILDREN MY AFRICA before it closed on Sunday.  Sunday, was also the night of the TONY AWARDS & the night I saw the riveting play COCK by Mike Bartlett, winner of the 2010 Olivier Award.  Both plays use minimum staging & actors and both deal with the power of words.  COCK could be called COCK FIGHT. It is a love triangle between two men & a woman, W, in which both the older gay man, John, & the woman, W, vie for the affections of the younger male, M.  M had been in a 10 year gay relationship with John. The ingenious staging of the play simulates a fighting match where the audience sits on raised wooden bleachers.  The 1st round is John & M arguing about what isn't working in their relationship while circling and lunging @ each other.  A "bell" gongs & the actors retreat to opposite sides for a break & drink of water as in a boxing match.  M encounters W shortly after, they connect & have sex which is very erotic despite any nudity or contact.  The final rounds have John, M, W & F (John's F) all trying to coerce M to choose either W or John.  I'm reminded of the late Gibb's lyrics, "It's only words, and words are all I have to take your heart away."  Steal away to see this tour de force of a play.