Cyril & Michael
by Theo Chen Bridging the Gap Collective Drama Centre Black Box, Singapore Two strangers meet on gay dating app Grindr and share an encounter in a hotel room. Except it’s not just fast, meaningless sex. Budding playwright and theatremaker Theo Chen’s assured two-hander, presented by Bridging the Gap Collective, is a deceptively simple play that slowly draws one into its orbit. Over the course of 90 minutes, his characters dissect race, age, sexuality and relationships, shedding physical and emotional layers as they share a connection neither is likely to forget. Cyril (Ezra Jazlan Kamal), a sassy army recruit who has been dancing the night away, arrives at a hotel for a hook-up, fully expecting to be done within 15 minutes. He is greeted by Michael (Peter Zazzali), a polite, middle-aged American who is visiting Singapore on business and had caught sight of him earlier that evening. After a few tentative moments, they sit at the table to have a drink. Cyril is excited but apprehensiv
