The Soft Subject The Soft Subject
Assembly Hall
11 /8 /17
4 Stars
And here's the reason why the Edinburgh Fringe is so special. Among the noise and demand for attention, you chat to someone about their flyer, take a risk, and find a hidden gem such as this one by Hyphen Theatre.
Written and performed by Chris Woodley, this is his autobiographical story of love. A former drama teacher, Woodley structures the show as a lesson, drama considered to be a soft subject. Introduction, starter activity, main task, evaluation etc., with the main aim being to live happily ever after.
Woodley is a warm and engaging actor, and shares his experience of love openly, with symbolic props and subtext conveyed to us, the class. Never patronizing, the show is honest, funny and beautifully poignant.
The love of his life is Ryan, but the course of true love never does run true. But this is a gay love story that, in it's simplicity, avoids cliche, mainly because his family are so supportive of him, you celebrate the benefits of equally. To understand why you will want an email from Chris's Dad, you will need to see this tender, memorable, 'ordinary' story.
THE SOFT SUBJECT TICKETS
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
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