Smoke – King’s Head Theatre, Islington

Writer: Alexis Gregory 
Director: Campbell X

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Compelling & Personable“

4.5 / 5

When Alex gets a message from Ben – his boyfriend who died two years ago, his mind goes into overdrive, questioning all of the possibilities and sending himself down a rabbit hole of destruction.  

Alex (Alexis Gregory) initially assumes it’s a simple hack, a chancer out to try his luck and steal his identity, unaware of the devastation they’ve caused by using a dead man’s profile. But the more he considers it, the more he starts to think there might be a deeper meaning to it all – what if it’s Ben’s mum sticking the knife in for not being good enough for him while he was alive? What if it’s a government conspiracy set up to mess with Alex and stop him from revealing the truth about the transmitter in his brain? One thing for certain is he has to find out, and he doesn’t care who he hurts in the process.  

The Cabaret House – a very small 50-seat area of the King’s Head Theatre, would possibly be a detriment for many performances, but for Smoke, it helps it thrive even more so. The incredibly intimate space strips everything back to just Gregory, who is already a compelling performer, that uses the intimacy to really engage with the audience, having them hang on his every word. The close-knit atmosphere suits Gregory’s performance style of ‘chatting to a friend’, it never feels rigid or scripted, more just a genuine recounting of an experience from a masterful storyteller.  

The initial storyline of the mysterious message is interesting enough, but Gregory takes that, then ducks and weaves with it so often that the outcomes are never predictable, and you’re left so invested in a story you never even saw coming. Although an intense rollercoaster of emotions, it never feels contrived, in part through the writing, but mainly from the genuine, passionate approach in the performance, that feels extremely raw and honest. Although the subject matter at points, can be heavy, Gregory uses a lot of dark humour and funny quips that further add a personable aspect to the show. The themes of grief, mental health and other sensitive aspects such as suicide and abuse, are approached delicately, but head on, not shying away from the hard stuff, but equally not forcing it in for the sake of an additional plot point.  

This riveting queer thriller will have you wholeheartedly captivated from beginning to end.  

Runs until 11^th November 2024