Vital Sutra is a play about AIDS. It’s a bizarre play; it’s comic and it’s dark, but above all it’s deeply personal and revealing, and therein lies its power and impact on the audience. The playwright, David Carter describes the play as ‘a story about a virus, my virus.’ Even the protagonist is called David, and the three other characters, Cap, Gag and Pol (components of the AIDS virus) act out the invasion of his body.
Within the poetical and abstract structure, the viruses provide spark and life to the piece. As the play progresses, they begin to inhabit stronger personalities, teasing and bickering with each other. They appear far more human than their ‘host’, David, (expertly played by Ryan Stuart) who remains scarily passive to the action around him. His one attempt to break away, when Ryan allows us to see his frustration and fear by racing manically round the stage, produces little reaction in the viruses. Instead they advise him to stay away from drugs- ‘Go the Africa! It’s safe from drugs there!’ You can’t help but feel he will follow the path of Charlotte, their old, now derelict and exhausted host.
And yet you also find yourself empathising with the viruses’ plight. They have a huge, risky journey to make; ‘What if we don’t get in?’ inquisitive Gag, delightfully played by John De Barham, asks.
With three distinct personalities comes humour, a dark humour that never relents in giving the audience a little kick as well as a tickle; ‘I’m a creator’ – ‘Like God?’ – ‘I’m quicker.’
It’s not an easy play to watch; beneath the comedy lies a serious issue, which director Alison Comley skilfully balances and imaginatively stages. After the laughs you are left with a very sombre taste in your mouth. After all, hundreds of ‘hosts’ like David die every day. Vital Sutra is a deeply personal play, but about a very public issue; a must see.
Viral Sutra is on at the Finborough Theatre from 15 August to 2 September.
Box Office: 08704000838
www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
