Simon Stephens nudges Franz Xaver Kroetz’s 1972 play Men’s Business through the nihilistic gloom of 'in-yer-face theatre' to produce what might have been a satiric five-minute sex comedy set in the back of a butcher’s shop. Instead, there’s over eighty minutes of no character development, nudity, scenes of sexual intercourse, lots of weapons from large knives to a gun and a sleepy dog (Cooper) who was so bored with the performance that, when the audience tried to applaud him, he turned away and tried to leave the stage.
The plot consists of the steelworker Victor continuously abusing Charlie, the female owner of a butcher’s shop. She seems willing to go along with anything he wants. This lends itself to improbable plot elements, unimaginative dialogue and plenty of sex and violence to keep you awake.
The show opens with Charlie entertaining Victor (Rex Ryan) dressed in his overalls with a meal at the back of her shop. Quickly finishing the food, he slides off to his pornographic magazine to look at pictures of naked women. In response to Charlie’s question about what he is looking at, he tells her, “it’s nothing to do with you. It’s men’s business this is.”
He doesn’t seem interested in her, and even argues she would be no good in the magazine because she’s ugly. However, after she tests him out on the publication’s gender stereotypes quiz, he suddenly tells her to take her clothes off.
Being jealous of her dog, who he keeps suggesting is having sexual contact with her, he ends their fling until she hides the dog in the freezer and pretends to him she has killed it.
The cast give confident performances, with Lauren Farrell very effective in conveying expressions of nervous vulnerability.
Unfortunately, the story’s direction of travel is predictable, even to its ridiculous ending, which gets the odd laugh along with a few raised eyebrows.