If LGBTQ Theatre is your thing, then this play, by Jonathan Harvey, is an absolute must-see. Harvey's script is sharp and well-observed. Caustic and sarcastic and doesn't pull any punches. It is quite Quentin Crispesque in places.
This production by Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester (co-produced by Stream.Theatre) is a live recording made on the 5th June, and is availble for you to watch and enjoy online too until June 20th.
The play is set in the late 1990s when AIDS was very much at the forefront of fear for every homosexual worldwide (parrallels can be drawn perhaps between AIDS then and COVID now), and tells the story of Danny, a young man who has died from AIDS in hospital and is now in limbo, waiting to be allowed into heaven. Whilst there, the play uses montages / vignettes of his past life intermingling with his present situation and the people he has left behind, and we learn about him and his life through his lover Connor, Connor's brother and wife, Lana, who also happened to be Danny's soulmate, and of course through Danny's mum, Beryl, as well as a few others along the way.
The play, when written would have been quite ground-breaking one imagines; however, today we are not really shocked by any of this (yet we are supposed to be). The play should be a paean to love, the power of love, friendship, and acceptance, but somehow, either due to the lack of happy ending or the flatness of the screen, it left me feeling rather deflated, rather than hopeful and optimistic.
Fantasy and reality intermingle. Trance-like states become the norm, and drugs and hallucinations are the reality.... or are they...??? Surreal juxtapositions. It is also extremely camp. And the set and design in general go a long way to help this image. However the performances themselves are firmly placed, rock solid. [despite the obvious and overt theatricality here and there.... but we forgive that, it IS a play afterall!] Nathan McMullen puts in a really credible and sympathetic performance as Danny; with Layton Williams as the very relatable lover Connor. Jodie Prenger plays Danny's mother with real sang-froid. The company is complete with Amy Dunn (Lana), Harrison Scott-Smith (Ben), and Matt Henry (Lee). These are all seasoned performers and the quality of their acting is second to none. There is a great ensemble feel to the piece and had it been live then I am sure the chemistry between them would have been palpable.
A couple of things though didn't work quite so well for me. First of all the choice of music (perhaps a problem with the play's title..??), but 'Hushabye Mountain' will always be the lullaby in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and nothing else, and so for director Bagnall to use this song in his production was a rather obvious, but perhaps also ill-advised choice. The play also started with Prenger singing 'Feed The Birds' from 'Mary Poppins' as Danny gains his wings and starts to ascend the steps of heaven. Both these song choices seemed wrong in a play about AIDS. 'Mary Poppins' and 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' are essentially children's musicals, and the connection between those and the subject matter on offer in Harvey's play could not be further apart.
The other thing which I found rather distracting was the filming itself. Hope Mill Theatre's acting space had been turned into what was effectively a film studio for this recording. The camera followed or panned accordingly and it felt extremely filmic. This in general was absolutely fine. But sometimes the shots were a little out of focus. Was that deliberate? And at other times we seemed to be able to see characters not involved in the scene picking up props or donning items of costume on the sidelines. Again was this deliberate? I wasn't really quite sure on either count to be honest.
However, what is certain is that this is a very bold, brash, hard-hitting play, which certainly deserves to be seen and appreciated, if only for the quality of the acting. The message of the play, especially in our COVID time, does little or nothing to inspire sadly.
The other thing which I found rather distracting was the filming itself. Hope Mill Theatre's acting space had been turned into what was effectively a film studio for this recording. The camera followed or panned accordingly and it felt extremely filmic. This in general was absolutely fine. But sometimes the shots were a little out of focus. Was that deliberate? And at other times we seemed to be able to see characters not involved in the scene picking up props or donning items of costume on the sidelines. Again was this deliberate? I wasn't really quite sure on either count to be honest.
However, what is certain is that this is a very bold, brash, hard-hitting play, which certainly deserves to be seen and appreciated, if only for the quality of the acting. The message of the play, especially in our COVID time, does little or nothing to inspire sadly.
Reviewer - Chris Benchley
on - 11.6.21
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