David Paisley on jockstraps, sobriety, & bringing party’n’play drama to the stage

A decidedly queer, no-holds-barred play is currently thrilling theater audiences in London, England. Jock Night, written and directed by Adam Zane, was first performed in Manchester by fringe theatre company, Hive North.

Zane has spent the last 20 years creating verbatim theater, but this is his first full-length non-verbatim work. However, although the characters may be fictional, the story is very much rooted in the reality of a particular gay subculture.

Jock Night focuses on five men who meet, f*ck and fall in love in the chemsex scene. Nights out at a fetish club—Jock—are followed by all-night sessions of group sex, pill-popping and powder snorting. The play doesn’t hold back in portraying what goes on: characters wander around in jockstraps, canoodle beneath the bed sheets, and pass around cups of carefully measured GHB.

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The subject matter may be dark, but the show bounces along thanks to generous helpings of savage wit. An appreciation of the Manchester-set British soap opera Coronation Street will undoubtedly help when it comes to understanding some of the jokes. However, even without that knowledge, it’s hard not to feel for the characters and their search for fulfillment.

David Paisley, whom British audiences will know from the hospital-set TV drama Holby City, leads the cast. He plays Ben, a muscle-bound, mid-40s daddy type who’s had his heart broken in the past and now enjoys intimacy without commitment… until an adult entertainer reawakens something dormant inside him.

Queerty caught up with Paisley to talk about parading around on stage nearly naked and getting in shape for the role.

When I first read the script for Jock Night, my first thoughts were ____

This is hilarious but also a very important story that resonated with me personally, and I felt very connected to the journey of the characters and their lives and experiences.

It felt like a story that needed to be told about a world that many people don’t realize exists, yet it’s a huge part of the lives of a section of gay men for whom a lifestyle of drugs, sexual hedonism, and lost weekends is a normal part of the fabric of their lives. I also wondered if I’d be comfortable being nearly naked for a full two hours on stage. The answer, as it turned out, was yes.

The number of jockstraps and harnesses I own in real life is ____

Zero. I don’t actually own any.

I think people look at me and see tattoos, piercings, and muscles and think have a far more exciting and adventurous sex life. In truth, I am horribly, conventionally vanilla, and wherever I get asked what kinks I have. I feel like I should probably make some up, as the true answer—I like cuddles and naps—isn’t very exciting.

I went out clubbing with a cast mate to the kind of club where you are supposed to wear harnesses, and I had to cheat by stealing my character’s costume without telling the director. Somehow photos ended up on Instagram, but I think the director was okay with it as he liked and shared them himself. So, I narrowly escaped getting into trouble.

My gay party phase consisted of ____

Lots of amazing nights with lovely friends that I’m still very close with and are very dear to me. All my friends kind of grew out of clubbing, got married, had babies, and there was a point where I was like the last man standing, and I perhaps should have retired my dancing shoes a little earlier. I definitely pushed my party phase as far as I could.

I’m sober these days, and it’s the best decision I ever made. I’m far happier and healthier for leaving that behind.

I didn’t totally abandon the dancefloor, though, but I learned to enjoy music and nights out as an occasional treat, and I’ll stay only as long as I’m having fun and enjoying it, then slip away home and let the party continue without me. I still find a lot of joy in music and dancing, but I don’t need to be mashed to enjoy it. It’s a blessing to have found the right path for me.

I worry about young gay men hitting the scene for the first time today because ___

The scene has really changed since I was younger. The kind of drugs people use has changed. We cover crystal meth use in the play, and when I was younger, it simply wasn’t around. It’s a harder and darker drug that has made the scene a bit darker and scarier, and my main worry is for young people seeking connection and intimacy and falling into drug use that’s caustic and harmful.

It’s a bit of a cliché for ’90s clubbers to complain that the scene is less friendly and not what it once was, but there’s a lot of truth to that.

When I was younger, a chillout was a post-clubbing party where everyone was welcome, men and women, gay and straight, and people would be actually chilling out, with clothes very much on.

Whereas that word has come to mean post-club sex party, and no one is particularly chilled out. More wired and wild. The shift towards a more sexual, darker scene leads to a lot of loneliness and isolation, which is the great irony, as most people are simply seeking connection.

The biggest challenge in taking on this role was ____

Getting in shape and learning the accent [Paisley is Scottish].

I haven’t spoken about it much, but I was paralyzed and bed-bound for a large part of last year after a serious spinal injury. I ended up in a wheelchair, and it took me about nine months to fully walk again. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to do the play, as my back has relapsed a couple of times, and I struggle to walk even now. I’m in constant pain and still in the process of recovering.

I really focused on getting fit and well in the gym, getting my body to its strongest and healthiest so I could actually do the show. It’s been a huge challenge, and I’ve really struggled at times, but I’m having such a joyful experience doing that play that I can push through the pain and just enjoy working with such a lovely team on a show I really love and believe in.

The hardest part is the bows, as I still can’t bend over. Which is not ideal for a lot of reasons.

The gayest thing about me is _____

All of the gay bumming I do with my gay boyfriend. That and my gold sequinned hotpants I bought for seeing Kylie Minogue (which now have a featured role in the show).

The show that changed my life ___

Tinsel Town, which was my first role at the age of 19, and was my introduction to the industry. I was so well looked after by that company and those people, it was like going to drama school as I learned so much. Especially from my co-star Stevie Allen, who played my boyfriend in the show.

He very sadly passed away this year, and I was utterly heartbroken. His guidance and advice meant so much to me, and I don’t think I could have done that show with anyone else. He was such a generous actor and a very wonderful man who is much missed.

A director or storyteller I would love to work with is ___

​​Pedro Almodóvar, although my Spanish is terrible, so it’s unlikely to ever happen. Having said that, he’s just made his first English language film about gay cowboys and I’m very excited to see it, so you never know…

‘Jock Night’ plays at the Seven Dials Playhouse through November 11.

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