Harry Clarke
‘Harry Clarke’ is quite possibly the blandest name for a play in written history, and Billy Crudup is one of those well-liked supporting actors who you kind of know, are happy he exists, but aren’t maybe like: ‘oh my god BILLY CRUDUP is doing a one-man-show in London!!!’. However, behind this unassuming exterior lurks a truly odd play. In the UK debut by playwright David Cale, Harry Clarke is the English alter ego of Philip Brugglestein, a sensitive gay guy from Indiana who had already adopted another English alter ego, having moved to NYC and told people he was from London. Although Crudup dips into a multitude of roles and voices, the ‘English’ Philip serves as the show’s narrator, with an accent and persona somewhat seemingly cribbed from neurotic ‘Star Wars’ droid C3PO. Having moved away from home, Philip just seems to be… hanging out in New York, pretending to be English, but not really doing anything, until one day in a moment of bored whimsy he decides to follow Mark, a business guy, around - eavesdropping on him a little but nothing particularly untoward. However, a chance encounter with Mark at the theatre leads to a panicked Philip spontaneously resurrecting Harry, a character he made up as a child. Harry, it turns out, is a swaggeringly confident omnisexual with a fantastically interesting past and an accent that’s pure Spinal Tap. He and Mark hit it off immediately. To say much more would be to get into spoiler territory for what is in essence a twisty thriller. T