Taken In is a new gay play by Shamelessboyz Theatre Company. It’s a funny, poignant and revealing story of looking for love in all the wrong places. A chance encounter brings two people of vastly different backgrounds together in a journey of the heart. Even the most generous man may still be capable of fooling himself, but at what price? Taken In is a play about love, trust, understanding and the unexpected connection between two people.

We spoke to Phil Price, one of the actors in Taken In, to find out more about the play, naked boys singing, dick size and shameless boys…

Taken In is about to open at the Barons Court Theatre, London. What can we expect?
It’s a moving tale about a 30 something gay man who, after a string of failed relationships, takes in a rent boy he meets one night on Hampstead Heath. The play chronicles their relationship and leaves you wondering just who was taken in!
 
What was it about the piece that made you get involved?
I’ve worked on all the company’s project since we set up Shamelessboyz two years ago. Peter Bull, our producer, asked me to read the script as he thought the part of Danny, the rent boy, would be a good part for me. The play is a two hander and so I’m on stage nearly all the way through. It’s the biggest part I’ve played and as such it’s been a real challenge for me as an actor.
 
I believe the story is about looking for love in all the wrong places. What kind of places are we talking about?!
Well you don’t go looking for love on Hampstead Heath! However, true love comes along in the unlikeliest of places and when you least expect it!

A chance encounter in the play brings two people of vastly different backgrounds together in a journey of the heart. Do you think that opposites really attract? Or does like attract like?
The two characters are from very different social backgrounds, but they form a bond and a love that sees beyond this. Ultimately, perhaps, they are too different for it to work. I think the fact that they are ‘opposites’ is what attracts them to each other in the first place. There is a fascination with the different, the exotic.

"To be honest, if you’re comfortable with your body - and as an actor you have to be -  then nakedness is just another costume."

So, have you ever been taken in by anyone? 
I hope not!
 
What would you like audiences to take with them after having seen Taken In? 
I hope the audience will be moved by the story as well as entertained. If, as actors, we have done our job then the audience will have had a thought provoking experience.
 
You recently performed in Naked Boys Singing. Was it hard to get your clothes off and sing in front of a gay audience?
Never agree to a job when you’ve had a few drinks! Peter called me late one night and asked me if I fancied going into Naked Boys Singing in the USA. The producer is a friend of his and had asked him to find a British actor to join the American cast.

I thought, ‘Why not, it sounds like fun.’ And before I had a chance to sober up and change my mind I was in Milwaukee, stark naked on stage, singing my heart out! To be honest, if you’re comfortable with your body - and as an actor you have to be -  then nakedness is just another costume.

How did it feel to know that everyone in the audience would be checking out the size of your dick before they checked out your talent?
When I joined Naked Boys Singing the American cast had already been doing the show for a while and had settled down and become comfortable with it. I was something of a novelty but the cast made me very welcome and put me at my ease. I trained in circus skills and acrobatics, so my numbers were re-choreographed to capitalize on this.

A lot of people who had seen the show before came back to see this boy from Britain doing these amazing moves. I felt a lot of pressure not to disappoint with my performance. I think I was more worried about remembering my lines and my dance moves than I was about my dick size!

Without bragging, let’s just say I never had to pay for a drink and was asked out for dinner every night! Peter was around to save me from some of the scarier offers!

"I think I was more worried about remembering my lines and my dance moves than I was about my dick size!"

You’re obviously very confident and proud of your body. Do you think that gay men come under pressure to conform to the body beautiful? 
I suppose I’m confident in my body, although I’ve never consciously worked on it to attract people. Training in circus meant that I’ve always been toned. I think gay men generally tend to take more pride in their appearance, but I think straight men are becoming more aware.
 
Sex – particularly in gay plays – is often used to get bums on seats. Does that bother you?
I would only do a play if it had artistic merit - or was a lot of fun. If the sex or nudity is warranted then I don’t have a problem. Naked Boys Singing made fun of gratuitous nudity.
 
You're a founding member of Shamelessboyz. What's the aim of the company?
Our aim is to present fresh, new, innovative and entertaining gay works to a British audience. We have also started taking plays to America.
 
So are you all shameless boys?!
Absolutely!
 
And finally, what’s next for Phil Price?
Immediately following Taken In I’m going back to Milwaukee with the Shamelessboyz production of Jack Heifner’s gay take on La Ronde called  Seduction. After that we  take it to Chicago to coincide with the International Gay Games in July. Next autumn I’m appearing in the European premiere of Jack Heifner’s Boys’ Play and hope to do panto at Christmas. I’ll also be running my circus workshops throughout the year.

Taken In, a new gay play by John W Lowell
Baron's Court Theatre
The Curtain's Up Pub
28A Comeragh Road
London, W14 9RH
0208 932 4747

7 February-5 March 2006

Buy Jonathan Harvey`s moving gay teenage film, Beautiful Thing, online and save some money.