★★★★ | Positive, Waterloo East Theatre, London
“If Britney can get through 2007, then I can get through today.”
Benji’s mantra has got him through the first year following his HIV diagnosis, and the time has now come to grab life by the balls and get his love life back on track. Inspired by true stories, Positive is an honest and uplifting story about an ordinary guy living with one of Britain’s most misunderstood diseases.
Shaun Kitchener’s new play is a work of quiet and restrained power. The power of the piece is in its initial appearance as a light comedy with an almost sit-com like feel at times. Whilst the situations, characters and dialogue are often achingly funny, the message at the heart of the play is a strong one with a compelling depiction of what its like to experience living with a diagnosis of HIV in a frequently ignorant and uninformed world and a world where new drug treatments aren’t the easy ride that some people would like to believe they are.
The seven-person cast are universally strong with standout performances from Sally George as Benji’s overbearing mother and Jamie-Rose Monk as Benji’s consultant. Writer and actor Shaun Kitchener gives a bemused and amusing turn as Benji’s potential new love interest.
This is a quietly moving and uplifting play that will make you laugh as well as think. It’s definitely worth a look. The theatre itself is an intimate space that lends itself well to the production and is only a short walk from Waterloo station.
Positive runs until the 1st of June 2014
Buy tickets here: http://www.waterlooeast.co.uk/positive%20.html
