It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in November 2009 and centres around John, a gay man who feels torn after meeting and falling in love with a woman.
"Ben was so bang on because he just said you’ll get into a rehearsal room and work on it but when you put it in front of a live audience there is an outpouring and it just becomes a supernova of a theatrical experience and he was right.
[19] Alison Croggon, writing in The Guardian, gave the play 2 stars out of 5, described Cock as a story of a gay man's discovery of "the unexpected pleasures of Cunt."
[20] In The Village Voice, Alexis Soloski describes the play as a "visceral, funny, anguished" production that "pits boy against girl, cock against cunt."
"[21] Writing for the Sydney Arts Guide, Richard Cotter described the play as a "robust, ribald and bollocking production" about a gay man who becomes "cock shocked and cunt struck" due to a "newfound fondness for vaginal sex and a future view of breeding fecundity".
He praised Bartlett's "crisp script" which he felt perfectly describes the sexual confusion of a "man child who has his cock and wants to eat it too."
The play is critiqued as "gimmicky", but the "surprisingly steamy" and "brilliantly staged" sex scene is praised for eliciting nervous laughter and shocked reactions in the audience.
[23] The Lifestyle Hub described the play as "a gay man's hilarious journey to heterosexual orgasm" that explores the "complexities of homosexuality."