Stuart: A Life Backwards

Based on Alexander Masters’ book of the same name, Stuart: A Life Backwards charts the author's relationship with a vulnerable Cambridge homeless man called Stuart Shorter. Its transfer to stage turns it into a work of autofiction which looks in detail at both Shorter’s tragic life and Masters’ own motivations for befriending one particular person amongst all the other cases he dealt with, and his inability to deal with his own personal insecurities.

The cast are exemplary, with Fraser Ayres giving a mesmerising performance as the muscular dystrophy-afflicted Shorter who is by turns violent, funny, sensitive and tortured. There is a creatively rendered supporting case of characters surrounding Masters and Shorter consisting of girlfriends, fellow homelwess, child abusers from Shorter’s past and the medical and legal staff tasked with processing him in his regular encounters with the state.

It is sometimes hard to know who the central character is supposed to be. In reaching out through storytelling, Masters reveals much of himself whilst telling the story of Shorter, the ostensible centre-piece of the production. His monologues—delivered directly to the audience—clutch at something just out of reach and he is frequently struck by a sense of futility in what he is doing.

Stuart… is an attempt to tell two stories—one of a failed system, one of middle class angst—and in the contemporary political climate of austerity and public service cuts, both feel terribly timely. Ultimately, Stuart: A Life Backwards is what Fringe theatre should be: challenging, creative, compact and honest.