Dirty White Boy

“Write about what you know” is the old writers’ adage. Perhaps it’s not as fashionable as it used to be, but judging by former London Paper blogger Clayton Littlewood’s success, it certainly still works.

His new play Dirty White Boy follows the bestselling book of the same name. And just three years ago Littlewood and his partner were running the shop of the same name in London’s infamous Old Compton Street.
The work was tough, the days long and the money did not pour in. Perhaps another writers’ motto is that hard times inspire creativity. Littlewood used the idle hours to sit in a red chair and tap away on his laptop observing the crazy, unique world of Soho – its drag queens, prostitutes, scene makers and just the ordinary lost souls who swaggered by.

Like the book, the play is a life affirming love letter to this legendary street. It centres on four main characters – long separated lovers Lesley and Charley, voracious transsexual Angie and the sensitive, damaged Latino Chico. Through Littewood’s canny observations their fates intertwine to portray a simple, yet deeply moving testament to the power of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

The play’s strength lies in its structure. In an assured performance the author plays himself and delivers a series of by turns candid and hilarious monologues that introduce the main players and their visits to the shop. The action is broken up by well chosen songs performed by Alexis Gerred which add poignancy and meaning.

The backbone of the show, however, is David Benson who plays all of the main characters and his performance is extraordinary. Benson is a supremely gifted performer. He can switch from delivering manic, hilarious dialogue to tender introspection in a nanosecond and inhabits each character seamlessly as we feel their struggles and vulnerability.

The play comes to a bittersweet end with Littlewood musing on the closure of his shop and the fates of the protagonists. It is a refreshingly raw look at life on the edge and proof that real beauty, like art, is often found in the saddest places. We are left with Angie’s words reverberating in our ears: “One day you will be back in that shop, Clay,” she says. And in a strange twist of fate, every evening, Littlewood now is. The difference is that he has created something very special from his experiences, a lasting document to one of London’s most iconic backdrops. The result is a tender and humble meditation on the fragility of life.

Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY until 22 May

www.dirtywhiteboy.co.uk