THIRST
by Callum Patrick Hughes
Produced by Inn Crowd
The Albert Room
Cleethorpes Library
15 December 2022
This was an unusual show for many, many reasons. Part-gig, part-theatre, part-confessional, it transcends these notions and tells a raw, engaging and rather touching story. It is a show from the acclaimed writer and performer Callum Patrick Hughes, and was commissioned by Inn Crowd, an organisation that produces theatriical entertainment that can be taken to non-traditional theatre spaces such as rural pubs and community spaces. They specialise in touring one or two-person shows that can play to vast bars, or spaces like The Albert Room but always with an intimate feel.
The show did not feature any fancy staging, lighting, or effects. There were no curtains to come through, no stage to stand on, nor sound system to play through. It was merely one man and a guitar, a simple premise, enhanced by witty and personal storytelling. There was audience interaction, but not the cringeworthy mockery of a stand-up show, this was a performer who took an interest in his audience and referenced them at key moments during the show, as he returned to stories he had already shared with individual audience members when introducing himself as they took their seats.
He was constantly accompanied by twinkling guitar licks, that often became full-blow songs which morph back into stories part way throughe and then back to a song to end. Hughes is a talented musician and songwriter, and that was clearly underplayed during this show as his self-deprecating nature didn't allow him to boast of his career to date, co-writing multiple musicals since 2009 and touring the UK professionally as a performer in the work of others, notably in productions such as Godspell, The Great Gatsby, As You Like It, Treasure Island and the legendary Return to the Forbidden Planet. His pedigree as a performer is without question, and yet to watch him perform in this modest, autobiographical show, somehow perhaps, does not do him justice.
He opens by asking his audience what was the pub they first fell in love with. For many, it would be the pub where they gained their first alcoholic beverages (legally or illegally obtained), for others there may be more sentimental attachment based around events in their lives. For me, it would have to be "The Swan" in Little Haven, Pembrokeshire as it symbolises the perfect holiday destination for me since my childhood, sitting yards from and overlooking a tiny fishing bay - but I digress - we are asked to remember with affection those places significant in our lives and the people who populated them. Hughes vividly conjures up images of the locals at his first, true love pub and the Open Mic night where he first previewed his original song "Friend".
This song leads us on a journey through Hughes' life, we hear of his friends and family, we can picture his Irish Catholic grandmother who had actively turned away from the faith of her upbringing that was still concerned with Callum's immortal soul sufficently to insist on his Christening. We learn how at age three, during his Christening, Callum kicked the vicar conducting the ceremony in the testicles through a fear of being picked up by strangers. We learn that faith became imprtant during his teenage years, coupled with the discovery of cannabis. And we learn of how he first stole a beer with his best friend, from his step-dad, and that this led to a journey that today culminated in a visit to Cleethorpes Library of all places.
Hughes' story is told with wit, charm and warmth. We develop affection for those who populate his life, including his three God Fathers - all named John - and we hear of Bob Carlton, a theatre maker with a massive reputation who popularised rock 'n' roll pantos and coupled Shakespearean text with classic 50's rock 'n' roll hits in his shows such as Return to the Forbiddn Planet and From a Jack to a King. Hughes pulls no punches when discussing the impact and influence of Carlton upon his life.
Callum Hughes could pepper his autobiography with tales of the rich and famous he has encountered along the way, and we do get a taste of that life as he recounts a party at Sir Trevor Nunn's one New Year's Eve in which he encountered Sinead Cusack and Jeremy Irons and enjoyed a New Year's kiss from his first ever crush. I won't reveal who that was, you have to see Hughes' show to witness the unbridled joy in his telling of the tale. But rather than the glitzy showbiz tales, we learn of Callum's battle with addiction that he didn't even realise was either a battle or an addiction.
He had a problem with drink, or as he puts it, "drink has a problem with me". And through stories and song we learn how Hughes almost died, and was fortunate that his older sister spotted the problem just as it was fully taking its toll. Medical staff worried that he may not survive the four-hour slot necessary to treat him. But today, Hughes is happy to say that he is well and that he is over four-years sober. He still loves pubs and everything they have given him in his life and he is spreading his story, perhaps in the hope that others might realise that there is hope if drink has a problem with them too.
The evening's show was a warm and cosy delight on an otherwise icy night during a cost of living crisis. It offers hope, love and affection and to be honest, who couldn't do with a bit more of that, especially at this time of year. If you get the chance to see THIRST by Callum Patrick Hughes, I thoroughly recommend that you take the opportunity to do so. I am sure you will find plenty in it it, with which you can identify.
Andy Evans - 16 December 2022
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