THEATRE REVIEW: Cruise - HOME, Manchester.

'Cruise', the first and so far only play from the pen of creator Jack Holden, is a 105 minute non-stop tour-de-force for Holden. 

We start in the present day, and a thirty-something Holden is remembering his time in his early twenties as a volunteer at Switchboard, a LGBT+ telephone helpline. But it is one caller specifically whom the play focuses on, and soon, Holden cleverly takes on the persona of this caller, and takes us back to his life in the early 1980s, in Soho, amid the AIDS / HIV crisis. 

One imagines that much of the material presented this evening is either autobiographical, or drawn from close personal experience. The characters are too real, the situations too lifelike, the language and mannerisms too easy and recognisable. We all know people like those presented on stage this evening whether we are part of the LGBTQ community or not, and Holden switches between them at breakneck speed, but we never get lost. Although, undoubtedly, those of an alder generation who do identify as LGBTQ must find it even more raw and emotional. 

Holden's storytelling is powerful, sympathetic, visceral, and engaging. For the entire 105 minutes he commands the stage, whether standing completely motionless, or playing the fool, whether being himself or re-enacting scenes from his and others' lives, and even singing a couple of refrains too, as he dances in nightclubs, trolls his way through 'cottages', or sings karaoke. This is a dynamically interesting show which never loses pace or intent. 

His story is ameliorated by live music composed for this play and performed by John Patrick Elliott, as well as some creative (and at times audience-eye-blinding) lighting. Bronagh Lagan's direction is tight, easy to understand, and along with a metallic revolving set with disco lights on different levels, we are given plenty of visual stimuli too.

If there is a need for the LGBTQIA+ community to use theatre as a tool to raise awareness and curry understanding, then this is a perfect example of how it can and should be done.

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 6.5.23