Toxic at the Octagon Theatre Bolton
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
Toxic received a sellout run when it debuted at the 2021 Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Now, three years later this multi-award-winning dark comedy, receives its Northern revival debuting at the Octagon Theatre Bolton, before touring to Edge Hill University, Carriageworks Theatre Leeds, The Edge and Blackpool’s Old Electric.
Written by Dan Lovatt, Toxic tackles pressing themes around men’s mental health, friendships and the power of communication.
Set in Greater Manchester, Toxic charts the lives of two best friends, Andy and James, and their struggling relationship. When Andy discovers his husband has been having an affair, he looks to his friend James for support. However, James struggles to find the right words to comfort his friend, using jokes to hide his own vulnerability. As despair and doubt begin to set in, Andy and James must find a way to open up and communicate. With their own and other lives at stake, will they finally face their demons and save their relationship?
The recipient of the 2021 Write For The Stage Award and the OffFest Award for Outstanding Theatre, Toxic is a powerful and urgent performance, particularly at a time when men account for three-quarters of all UK suicides.
Moving fluidly between droll humour and heartfelt confession, Toxic is a high-quality show that opens an important conversation around the subject of men’s mental health.
