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An uplifting, cleverly written and extremely funny tale of learning to take up space again, when you’ve spent all your life trying to go as unnoticed as possible.Summary
Rating
Excellent
I first encountered Faun’s writer Vinnie Heaven in 2019 via their wonderful auto-biographical show She’s a Good Boy. It was a show that left a strong imprint in my mind, and one I refer to often as I try my hardest to better understand a topic that can still be a social and political minefield: gender identity. And don’t tell them this (I don’t want to seem like a stalker) but since then, I’ve kept an eye on their career!
Which brings us nicely to Faun. Whilst Heaven may not perform, it’s abundantly clear that central character Ace is very much a projection of themself and the battles they have had to fight to get to where they now are.
Ace (Aitch Wylie) is sofa surfing, about to hit sofa number thirteen at the home of friend Paige (Nyah Randon) and her boyfriend Ant (Afton Moran). The tone is set immediately as Ace breaks the fourth wall for a quick etiquette session on the do’s and don’ts of sofa surfing, including the golden rule of knowing when you’ve outstayed your welcome long before your host has realised it.
Oh, and just to complicate matters, Ace is slowing turning into a faun, a half-goat, half-human creature known for amazing skills in flute and dancing – something played upon to great effect throughout, although this faun might not yet have quite mastered those practices! Turning into a faun really isn’t ideal though when you’re trying to go unnoticed, when all you really want to do is fit in quietly and not risk losing another sofa to sleep on.
As analogies go, it’s both clever and amusing, but more importantly, an incredible way to present the complexities of gender identity. Heaven’s message is clear, and in tonight’s amazingly diverse audience, is received with cheers and wild whooping. It’s a powerful message of learning to live your own life, of not having to change to fit in, but instead finding a place where you can comfortably be yourself. It’s also about never having to apologise for who you are.
Wylie’s Ace is a wonderful presence throughout, their comic timing matching the script’s strong humour. But as sassy as they are, they also project the vulnerability that humour so often masks. Alongside Wylie, Randon’s role as Paige doesn’t leave her a great deal to play with, but she does come alive much more when she returns later as Doe. Moran has fun as slightly goofy boyfriend Ant, although it’s their later role as Plant that threatens to steal the limelight, wordlessly expressing everything required with a masterclass of mime.
The show does wander dangerously into kitsch and cabaret late on, and whilst tonight’s audience delights in this, it possibly risks losing some of us. For myself, it drags us out of the story a little. But hey, this show isn’t aimed at an audience of middle-aged straight white men, so it’s probably not really going to matter too much.
Faun is so obviously based on Heaven’s life, even if the basic premise is farfetched. The story is told with the humour I so fondly recall from She’s a Good Boy and which marks Heaven out as a writer to admire and watch. It’s a charming and funny story that will fill you with joy and pure happiness to see that here is a young artist who may have struggled to find their place (or sofa) at times, but judging by tonight’s reception, they are clearly on the way to finding peace with the world.
Written by: Vinnie Heaven
Directed by: Debbie Hannan
Lighting design by: Laura Howard
Sound design by: Mwen
Movement direction by: Chi-San Howard
Produced by: Jack Wakely on behalf of Cardboard Citizens, Alphabetti Theatre and Theatre 503
Faun plays at Theatre503 until 29 April. Further information and bookings can be found here.
The show will also be playing at Plymouth, Birmingham, Salford and Bristol in May. FUll dates can be found here.
