Francis Bacon (Alistair Hall) and George Dyer (Peter Clements) dance around their first meeting as audiences find their seats, and from their first glance you know you’ve gotten front row to a tumultuous affair. The play spans eight years, concluding with the height of Bacon’s career (called the greatest living artist in Britain), and the end of Dyer’s life. Spanning a relationship of extreme tenderness and resentment, the writing is beautifully paced, keeping the audience in tow every step of the way.
When writing Buggers, Alistair Hall had rare access to personal documents, letters, and artefacts from the Estate of Francis Bacon, enriching the performance with exciting authenticity. The play is structured as a tryptich, meeting Dyer and Bacon in three summarising moments through the eight years, bookended by Soho, 1963 and Paris, 1971 at the end of Dyer’s life. Hall and Clements engage with the small stage, repurposing props in new ways to mark the different times – a room-divider becomes a canvas; a bath becomes a punch bowl. The enclosure feels hallowed by the end, and emphasises the obsessive intimacy of their relationship eloquently.
At its core the play examines identity within a relationship through a cruel and unusual eight years. As Francis’ work continues to reach wider audiences and acclaim, George descends to the depths of himself and madness. What the play does best is depict obsession and dependency with clear-cutting dialogue; there’s a frankness that holds you still in a moment though the play never pauses to self-congratulate. This assuredness in the pace allows you to relax into its storytelling, knowing you are in safe hands.
Buggers meets every criterion of a must-watch at the Fringe and cuts through the WIP noise with crystal-clear execution.
Buggers is showing until 30 August at Upstairs at the Pleasance Courtyard. Buy tickets here.
Image provided by Patrick Bone Productions in association with Pleasance as press material.
