Despite the play comprising of monologues, I did not feel
like the play was disjointed in any way. The performances moved smoothly from
one to another and all felt connected. The praise here must go to the
directors, Helen Parry and Olivia Schofield for creating a seamless set of
stories. They all had a different story to tell, but they were all involved in
Huddersfield’s first Gay Pride march. The 10 characters were all extremely well
established and fleshed out. The actors weren’t merely telling a story; they
had embodied their characters completely.
Simon Hallman, who played John Addy; owner of the only gay
bar in Huddersfield, opened the show. And he did so in such a way that the
audience were instantly relaxed and welcomed, therefore having us laughing
within the first minute. Jo Dakin followed Hallman, playing the character of
Avril Barton. She succeeded in keeping the audience relaxed and entertained,
even sitting on one audience member’s lap. The next two actors; Sapphire
Brewer-Marchant and Emily Spowage had tales to tell that intertwined and so
they shared the stage, which was a lovely, subtle change of pace. Their
performances ended in a soft and intimate way, almost forgetting that we were
watching them. In stark contrast to that, the next performance was by Patrick
Price, who played Mark Ashton, the highly comical and perhaps at times
over-sharing gay man talking about hit first sexual experience. Price embodied
the character wonderfully, even his movements had us in hysterics. A few
members of the audience were also surprised to learn that his Northern Irish
accent for the production was not his own. Iman Borono then took to the stage
as possibly the only openly gay Muslim, Iftikhar; followed by James Steventon
as deep-voiced glamorous drag queen Bunny; then Martin Green as David Milton,
Nathan Morris as Martin and finally Jude Leath as Harley.
I cannot remember the last show I saw with a large cast in
which every single actor shone. Although never really performing at the same
time, this was an ensemble production in which the 10 cast members all
succeeded in bringing joy, sorrow and laughter to a packed King’s Arms Theatre.
Although the actors were brilliant, praise for this must also go to the
writers; Stephen M Hornby, Abi Hynes, Peter Scott-Presland and Hayden Sugden.
Such captivating tales with a common theme but so different in tone. We were
taken on an emotional journey and were so invested in every character, the true
mark of good writing.
Not only was this production entertaining but it needs to be
seen. The historical context is so important still today. Their run at the
Manchester Fringe has now come to an end, but I sincerely hope that this
production is put on again. It deserves to be seen by so many more people.
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