Tryst by Paul Coates

By Joe Straw

Theatre is like this  - finding a moment in the light, discovering something new, an opening to a better understanding of the human condition.  – Narrator

The small stage at the Hudson’s Guild theatre was bare, except for four white chairs, and four black music stands on this Tuesday night December 11, 2018. 

One sign of humanity was a green backpack nestled against the wall, stage right. And, off to the side, a fancy white water bottle with a twist top that nourishes a human being.

Upstage against the wall hung an olive-green curtain that languished in the light – that held back darkness – and kept prying eyes from entering.

The particles of light emanate off the black box stage; walls and white chairs give the appearance of a purple fog and certainly a beginning to something new.  This would be a reading to “virgin ears.” This is where all theatre starts, from the very beginning.

Tryst by Paul Coates, directed by Nick DeGruccio, was on stage this night. I really hadn’t come to write a review.  I thought I would just write notes and present them to anyone who would gratefully receive them. So, these are my observations.

About halfway through the second act, I looked at the audience, a sideway glance if you will, and noticed everyone in rapt attention, no moving, no phones, no drinking, or taking out candy. And although this was a reading, one could not have asked for a better performance.

Charlie (Paul Coates) and James (David Youst) are a couple who have been together for quite a while although they have never been married.

Charlie is in the television business, a producer/writer, who is trying to get a project with Mylie Cyrus off the ground. He does not want to leave his beautiful home on Mulholland to wrestle with traffic and fight with people at the studio.  

Charlie is on the phone negotiating deals and fighting with other people about who should be in his program.  He is an ex-patriot from England but has managed to keep his petulant English accent. (Think of his character as a cross between Elton John and Michael Shurtleff.)  Could his petulancy be the result that something is not quite right with his relationship at home?

James, his partner, seems to be the level headed one.  He is a corporate executive, a creative director of a department store who does not like the entertainment limelight and really wants to be as far away from that life as possible.

On the surface and together, they are open and share everything.

After finishing the pilot, they plan an extended three-month trip to Paris. They have been searching around for a dog sitter, when Devon (Alex Best) enters their life.

Devon is a good-looking 25 year-old man with a striking resemblance to Paul Rudd.  (That resemblance plays well into the play.)  He is a homeless actor, a fatherless young man, who has acted in a few things and is desperately looking for any kind of work.

Devon ingratiates himself to Charlie first.  In fact, Charlie, despite all the bad things in his life right now, will not leave for work until he gets to know the intimate details of Devon’s life.  

Meanwhile James is pushing Charlie out the door so that, one, Charlie makes his appointment and, two,  he can have Devon all to himself while he explains the job.

With Charlie gone, levelheaded James explains the rules of the house to Devon, gushing all the while, explaining his age and getting mixed messages that Devon may be coming on to him.

Devon lands the job and becomes a valuable assistant in the process. Both Charlie and James want more so they invite him to Paris.

But, Devon wants even more. Overhearing that “Shane” (not seen) is not working out with the new Mylie Cyrus project, “He just not funny enough,” Devon puts on a southern accent and takes a go at the script.

Charlie is blown away by the reading and invites Devon to read for the part and then fights for him to secure the role.

Soon thereafter, they invite Devon to move in and be part of their family

Without giving away too much, there is a lot to enjoy of Coates work. It gives light to the human condition and highlights not only the words but the pauses as well. It is Coates finest work to date, as an actor and as a writer, and one that ingratiates itself to intimate theatre, the closer, the better the experience. It is exceptionally beautiful and rings a solid truth.

The fascinating part of this experience is the characters never really reveal their intimacy, reflective of their own emotions; they drill in order tell the other what exactly is on their mind. It is remarkable in the way two men are able to communicate with each other on the surface, and move on about their lives, without saying what they mean or want, and each wanting the intimacy they cannot articulate.

It is difficult to determine if a threesome is sustainable, that level of maturity needs a tremendous amount of work.  Twosomes are difficult enough to maintain, but in this work of art the exploration of the relationships, given all of their problems, makes for fascinating theatre.

In my imagination, I saw the home as open, white and sterile, no matter where the characters were.  There are a number of creative choices the director Nick DeGruccio can take this marvelous play.

David Youst was tremendous in this reading.  Sympathetic, slightly aggressive, and hiding feelings the he would normally express.

Alex Best, not quite the spitting image of Paul Rudd, but had some remarkable moments as well. The Character Devon is not willing to give up his secrets so easily but once he is secure he shares those moments.

And in the end, still not able to articulate their feelings, the ending is pleasing and totally unexpected.