WE are familiar with the term "fringe theatre", but until I visited the White Bear Theatre in Kennington Park Road in the East End of London I had not encountered in in literal terms. Two rows of seats round two walls of a large room on the fringe of the setting: the sitting room': of a cottage in Somerset. The ambience of the theatre was not promising, but we were to be more than pleasantly surprised by Man with Sparrow, a new play by Richard Parsons. It deserves to be seen by larger audiences in the West End of London, and hopefully with the same cast, who all gave excellent performances.
My initial reaction to the homosexual relationship between an older man and a younger man filled me with distaste. However, as the play developed my inhibitions quickly faded. The relationship was treated in an adult and sensitive manner, which is not another way of saying anything goes. No, the playwright simply accepted that such a relationship existed and did not exploit it
A Benedictine monk tries to help the older man. suffering from cancer, to face up to death.
Johnathan Kemp