VESPERTILIO (King’s Head Theatre/Shoot Media)****

 By Dave 

Link: https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/vespertilio

Available until: 5^th May

I always thought bats were cool. I used to have a bat detector. It was mostly pipistrelles - sopranos and altos. I looked for Daubenton’s bats, flying low over the river but I never saw any. Or noctules. They were supposed to be around but they must have run off when they heard the bat detector clicking.

There are lots of great bat facts in this play but they didn’t do my favourite. You might know that bats squeak as a means to locate their prey, known as echolocation. But the squeak of a bat is powerful enough to deafen a bat. So when they squeak, they perform an ossicular chain dislocation – a dislocation of the bones in their ears. This stops the bats from going deaf. (Don’t ask me what happens when you get a group of bats together, all going after the same prey. Hopefully they don’t deafen each other but I’m really not an expert!)

Not that the play is all about bats. One of the characters, Alan, is a bat expert who knows a lot more than I do. He lives near the home of the last greater mouse-eared bat believed to be alive in Britain. He spends a lot of time watching the bat, protecting him, monitoring him. But one night, Alan goes to see the bat as usual – and as he stands there in the dark, he realises he’s not alone.

There’s another man there, Josh. Quite a lot younger than Alan. Not a bat lover. He’s been kicked out by his parents and he needs somewhere to stay. Alan just wants him to go. He doesn’t want anyone to disturb the bat. But he and Josh meet again and Alan ends up inviting back to his house. Josh is attractive and flirty. Alan is reserved and awkward and not used to being around people. But then he finds he is getting used to Josh.

Barry McStay has written a moving and passionate story about two men who find themselves alone, not quite fitting into the world. Their lives are very different and it’s more than just the age gap, they’re very different people too. But then the connection is made. One of the great things about the story is that Alan and Josh aren’t too perfect. They start to care about each other but it’s not that simple, having emotions. Trusting someone else. There’s still a part of both of them that wants to run away.

There are always doubts and uncertainties, not just in their mind but in the audience’s minds too. We get to live through the uncertainty with them. They don’t know what will happen next or if their relationship can possibly work. We don’t know that either. I felt like I wanted the best for both of them but it’s not at all clear what the ‘best’ is.

The facts about the bats are woven cleverly into the narrative. Alan technically could be said to be lecturing the audience about bats but it’s completely in character for him. He loves bats. He’s much better with facts than emotions – though aren’t we all, to an extent? You’re far more likely to know where you are with facts.

One thing about the pandemic is that when two actors are in a situation where they might touch, you don’t know if they actually will. Some productions social distance and some form a bubble. So when there is touching, it means that bit more because it’s a big decision now and that makes the touching all the more powerful when it does happen. Director Lucy Jane Atkinson makes it even more meaningful because it’s such an important moment for both characters. They probably haven’t been properly held for a while, maybe even longer than the people who have been in lockdown on their own. The embraces are either very slow or very quick, like they can hardly believe it’s happening.

It’s filmed in two locations. An outdoor location with the bats and Alan’s elegant home, designed by Verity Johnson. Even Alan’s home is dark, though maybe that’s my device but maybe he’s living in the dark like a bat and maybe he and Josh are keeping each other in the dark about some things too. They’ve only just met. They’re not going to blurt out all their secrets at once.

Joshua Oakes-Rogers is a flirty, cheeky Josh, appreciating Alan as he is but also trying to get him to take an interest in other things. He seems confident but his situation makes him vulnerable. Benedict Salter is a kind, gentle and shy Alan, unused to people but trying his best.

There are a lot of romantic plays around and there’s a growing number of romantic plays involving members of the same sex which is great to see but Vespertilio is definitely unique.