The excitement and awkwardness of online dating, first time sex, and negotiating these as young disabled people, are realities faced by many of us, yet rarely explored on the stage or screen. That was until the launch of Kerbs – a Graeae and Belgrade Theatre co-production for Coventry City of Culture. Review by Sonali Shah.
Maya Coates & Jack Hunter in Kerbs. Photo Patrick Baldwin.
2022
Saturday 26th February brought the first ever performance of Kerbs to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. Written by disabled playwright and former Graeae ‘Write a Play’ student Michael Southan, and directed by the brilliant Nicky Miles-Wildin, Kerbs is a one act romantic comedy inspired by Southan’s own life.
With a cleverly transformative all-in-one set (designed by Amanda Mascarenhas) which enables swift scene changes, some hilarious dialogue and memorable performances, Kerbs smashes the disability-dating-sex taboo and brings a refreshingly honest understanding of the interplay between online dating, love, sex and the added extras that come with being a disabled person (including the PA and the accessible toilet!).
Maya Coates & Jack Hunter in Kerbs. Photo Patrick Baldwin.
2022
The show opens with a unique sight. David (Jack Hunter) and Lucy (Maya Coates) wheel on stage in their manual and power wheelchairs, after meeting via an online dating app, Tingle, playing and joking with their flirtatious tones and sexual energy for each other. Normal Rom Com scene. But within a few minutes they hit the first kerb. Lucy falls out of her wheelchair and ends up in hospital with a sprained arm and an over-dose of eternal-disabled-child syrup fed to her by very protective mother, played by Rekkha John-Cheriyan. Mother is understandably worried about her daughter, and Lucy is understandably embarrassed and annoyed that her normal flirtatious fun has been cut short.
The relationship between Lucy and her mother is rather fractious, as Lucy is craving for her independence and frustrated that she is still living at home with her. However, the profanity and shouting Lucy deals her mother seems a little over the top, but maybe this is more about opening night nerves. Hope so, as the mother is a likeable humorous women who does not deserve to be told to “fuck off”. Actually, David does not get off lightly either. He feels the brunt of Lucy’s anger with the world too. But being that bit older, calmer and more in tune with the disabling society, David perseveres with his Tingle date despite her tantrums.
But his idea of a naughty weekend away with Lucy brings new questions and challenges to negotiate. Who would be Lucy’s support worker? Would there be an accessible loo on the train? Why is David taking her to a small caravan in Minehead, instead of an accessible room in the Holiday Inn? Maybe his PhD scholarship will not stretch that far, or maybe it has run out by now (if it’s the same PhD he was undertaking while playing John in ‘Cost of Living’ in 2019).
As with many new couples, Lucy and David’s first sexual encounter was an awkward fumble in the dark, in a not-so-accessible caravan. But wait, Lucy has found the perfect place for another try. A spacious disabled toilet, with a hoist! Her support worker (also played by Rekkha John-Cheriyan) straps her into the hoist, removes her wheelchair and leaves her hanging and waiting. Within a minute, the public disabled loo is transformed into an accessible sexual heaven with multi-purpose aids. So, for David and Lucy, the second time ends in explosive fireworks!
Jack Hunter and Maya Coates are both disabled actors, professionally trained at high-ranking institutions (Queen Margaret University and London’s National Youth Theatre respectively), so no ‘Cripping’ up in this show. Kerbs is a very important piece of theatre, made accessible to everyone with closed captioning and audio description. The first night fluffs and fumbles will most definitely be ironed out in no time. I could see the director’s whip emerging as we left the auditorium.
Kerbs is a Graeae and Belgrade theatre co-production. Catch this touring production in Coventry, Liverpool, Doncaster, Scarborough and Plymouth, from March 3rd to 24th 2022!