Naked Men Talking: Michael Torontow
The actor takes us behind-the-scenes of a new production of "C**k".
Mike Bartlett's 2009 play, Cock, is returning to the London stage with a production by Talk Is Free Theatre. It will be on at COLAB from 22 April until 2 May.
At the core of the show is John, a man who has been in a steady relationship with his boyfriend for seven years. But when he unexpectedly falls in love with a woman, he is forced to confront questions he has long avoided about whether choosing the “easier” option is the same as choosing the right one.
Directed by Dylan Trowbridge, the cast features Aidan deSalaiz, Michael Torontow, Tess Benger, and Kevin Bundy.
For our podcast, Naked Men Talking, we caught up with Michael Torontow for a behind-the-scenes look at the play.
In the conversation, we talk high school musicals, body-ideals, and why Mamma Mia has a lot to answer for.
The story of Cock revolves around John, a man who's been in a steady relationship with his boyfriend for seven years but unexpectedly falls in love with a woman. You're playing the role of the boyfriend. Would you describe this as a play about bisexuality?
It's less about putting a label on anyone's sexuality and more that we all get one big, beautiful, fucked-up life to live. This play is about a handful of people trying to secure that life for themselves.
For the main character, John, that entails trying to figure out if that life is going to be with two different people of different genders. It's less about trying to label his sexuality and more about him simply making the decision and what the consequences of the decision are.
Are the dilemmas that these characters are navigating something that resonates with you at all?
I've been with my husband now for over 10 years, but we've been married for three. In the play, John and his boyfriend have been together for seven years.
It has made me reflect on my own relationship. I know that we're great, but it does make me wonder - what if, one day, something happens and something changes. It makes me really cherish the husband that I have.
This play was first performed in 2009 in London's West End. It starred Ben Whishaw and Andrew Scott. It also returned to the West End in 2022 with Jonathan Bailey and Taron Egerton. What makes this play so appealing to theatre-makers?
It really is the script. Mike Bartlett's intention for this play is to be done with no set, no props - the focus is on the words and the dialogue.
The title - Cock - isn't reference to a penis, it's more about cock-fights. This play is one big cock-fight. It's electric.
How did you discover and start to explore that acting was something that you were passionate about?
I didn't know that this is what I wanted to do until I was almost finished high school. I auditioned and was cast as the lead in the school musical - it was Joseph and the Amazing Technical Dreamcoat.
I wanted to be a doctor. I went to the University of Ottawa and studied biochemistry and chemical engineering. But I'd also started doing community theatre, and I soon realised that that's what I want to do.
I moved to Toronto and then I auditioned for the US national tour of Mamma Mia. I booked it.
That's basically how it all started and I've been doing it ever since.
Was your sexuality informing those choices?
I didn't know a single gay person at my high school. When I started getting into community theatre, I started to meet gay people. I was closeted - I was dating women.
I was still closeted when I started doing Mamma Mia. It wasn't until I was six months in that I met somebody and had an experience that helped me accept my sexuality.
How has your work as an actor shaped your relationship with your body?
When I was growing up, I was chubby. I was teased for it.
As I started doing community theatre, I wanted to fit the leading man archetype. I started lifting weights and watching what I ate.
In terms of role-models, the bodies that I was comparing myself to were men in gay porn - a body-ideal that's impossible to live up to.
I'm now in my 40s. Fitness is something that I enjoy doing - I like the discipline. I'm very happy in my body.
What do you hope that people feel when they come to see Cock?
I hope that they leave feeling alive. I hope that they leave feeling that they urgently need to find a person that they love and grab them and hold on to them and cling to them and never let them go. It's quite simple.
Gareth Johnson