My Night With Reg (NHB Modern Plays)

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When the tragic and the inevitable happens, revelations come to light at the post-wake gathering, and Guy must juggle the chaos of unrequited love, betrayals of friendship sworn to secrecy, loneliness, relationship breakdowns and the cruelty of consequence. The play is centred around kinship and betrayal, community and deceit, love and loyalty.

Oh yes, totally. I have a few friends who are gay and went through that time period, so I spoke to them and asked them about their experiences. I had to be quite delicate because it was such a harsh time, there was terrifying disease and no one really knew about it. [It] completely took out friendship groups, so I knew I had to be quite sensitive when asking people about it. Capturing everything that is both wonderful and painful about love in all its guises, this is a triumph that is unlikely not to charm the pants off you. My Night With Reg is a nice show with a beautiful set design but I felt the themes of the show were glazed over somewhat and it was a missed opportunity to highlight an important story.Opening in 1985 on an idyllic summer’s evening of booze and nostalgia, Kevin Elyot’s seminal piece about a group of gay friends and the titular – but never seen – Reg’s promiscuous ways sees the long overdue reunion of university friends mark the beginning of a catastrophic era that will affect all their lives. A heartfelt soul’ … playwright and screenwriter Kevin Elyot, who died last June. Photograph: public domain The glass is also an ode to the continual drinking and chain-smoking from the cast, particularly from John and Benny; a painful reminder that impulsive, Dionysian indulgence kills. Even the reserved, nicotine-free and painfully boring Bernie faces repercussions for his indulgences.

My Night With Reg was premiered at The Royal Court in London in 1994, transferring to the West End where it won accolades including Olivier and Evening Standard awards for best comedy. That was probably one thing I was a little bit worried about because it’s such a different space to the Donmar; it was in that traverse, almost quite film-like [set-up]. There’s a quality to it which is very close and intimate, and now it’s about opening it up a little bit more and being caught in that almost picture frame on a classical stage. I thought it was going to be harder than it was; it’s actually been quite fun finding new ways to do things.Both of your two West End productions to date have been with all-male casts. I presume that hasn’t been a deliberate move?! Only in the stage craft sense of it, of being aware of where the audience is and inviting them into Guy’s little flat. The story should be as funny and moving and intimate as it was in the Donmar space. In many respects, My Night With Reg is the perfect West End play: audiences will either be hysterically laughing or crying. It is a really fun evening out, and then you come home feeling deeply touched. And you can’t ask for much more than that. Hugh Bonneville