Noah Mertz/Assistant Photo Editor

When asked what led her to audition for Mike Bartlett’s “Cock,” which goes up this weekend in the Malcolm X House basement, cast member Willa Beckman ’15 was the first to admit that the provocative name caught her attention.

“Well, I saw in the advertisement that it was called ‘Cock,’ and I think that’s kind of what draws everyone to the show when they don’t know anything about it,” Beckman said.

But “Cock” is more than a shocking title. The show centers on John (Elijah Stevens ’15), who begins the play in a relationship with his unnamed boyfriend (Edward Archibald ’17). They break up, and John ends up accidentally meeting the woman of his dreams (Beckman). This occurs, of course, after John has already spent his entire life thinking that he was gay, flipping his entire world upside down and creating the central conflict of the show.

“I knew that I wanted to direct a play at Wesleyan, and I wanted to…direct a love story,” said director Haley Rauch ’15. “But not necessarily a conventional love story, not something that was sappy, and cheesy, and campy—Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I love musicals…I’m obsessed. But that’s not the story that I wanted to tell.”

Even beyond its basic plot, “Cock” is anything but conventional. Though technically in chronological order, the show’s scenes are initially separated into two groups: those featuring John and his boyfriend and those featuring John and his girlfriend. We are given all of the scenes with his boyfriend first, followed by all of the scenes with his girlfriend. In the third act, the two timelines, having caught up with one another, collide, and we are treated to a scene featuring the boyfriend, the girlfriend, and the boyfriend’s father (Russell Goldman ’17).

The entire show, from the very beginning, is fraught with tension. Though that tension is admirably depicted by the show’s cast, it does become tiresome. It was a relief when Beckman’s character was finally introduced, and something other than a fight could be had by the two characters that were onstage. Yet perhaps this is part of the point, in that John, like the audience, has become so tired of his boyfriend’s antics that it is a breath of fresh air when this woman waltzes into his life.

Though Stevens and Archibald do a decent job of depicting the conflict between John and his boyfriend, the emotions with which they do so are incredibly limited. Additionally, they did not read to me as a believable couple. Except for when they kissed, they seemed more like friends having a quarrel, rather than a couple trying desperately to stay together. From their first scene together, Stevens and Beckman seemed like a more natural fit. Indeed, Beckman is the member of the cast who really shines in this production and is perhaps its greatest success. She portrays the girlfriend as a complex woman with undeniable charisma, and it makes perfect sense that John would fall in love with her.

That said, “Cock” is an incredibly smartly written play. It very honestly and sensitively explores the struggle of having a sexuality that doesn’t fit neatly into a specific category in a world where clear labels are needed in order for one to be treated with any decency, an issue that is incredibly relevant to today’s climate regarding human sexuality. Though Bartlett’s script uses a few too many awkward metaphors, it also successfully manages to balance out its raw melodrama with moments of comedy.

“I’ve read a number of [Bartlett’s] plays, and when I saw this one, yeah, I laughed, but I cried,” Rauch said. “It wrecked me. It’s a very funny tragedy, and I just thought it was so powerful, and I think…that’s great art. Great art makes you cry.”

Rauch’s direction, too, really shines. For instance, her execution of one particular sex scene in the middle of the show is wonderfully innovative. I’ve never seen a theatrical production do something quite like it before, and it’s incredibly effective and powerful.

In the end, “Cock” is not a perfect production, but it does have a fascinating premise that will keep you in your seat, desperately wanting to know how it’s going to end. If you’re intrigued enough to check it out this weekend, it’s playing tonight, Friday, April 18, and tomorrow, Saturday, April 19, at 8 p.m. in the Malcolm X House basement.