HOME THEATRE, MANCHESTER – UNTIL 12TH AUGUST 2023
REVIEWED BY ZOE BROWN
5*****
Following its sell-out tour of the West End ‘Cruise’, the one-man show written and performed by Jack Holden, hit the stage this week at HOME.
With set design by Nik Corrall, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were entering a 80’s underground with black walls, dimly lit but for the occasional striking neon strip and a DJ booth raised above all else, as if an altar at which to pray.
Jack Holden wrote his debut stage play during the depths of the first year of the pandemic and watching this show you understand how its themes continue to resonate.
The story begins within the call room of Switchboard, a volunteer led helpline dedicated to providing signposting and information to the LGBTQIA+ communities across the UK.
Based on the writer’s own experience of working for the helpline it’s the perfect springboard from which the action soon pulls us back to the 80’s using the testimony of a Switchboard caller, Michael, who, to enlighten our young Switchboard volunteer Jamie, relives his wild rollercoaster of a life throughout this turbulent time in Gay history.
This show is a powerful reflection of cultural Gay history packed full of evocative punches, breathtaking spoken word, pumping music, and clever use of a rotating wooden structure that swiftly takes us from one venue to another. Set in London’s Soho, Michael takes us on a tour of iconic Soho haunts, retelling his early life with a mix of nostalgia, pride, and sadness. Arguably this list of haunts could easily be replaced with that of our own Gay Village or indeed any of the underground Gay venues in the 80’s across the UK.
Reflecting on the fragments of so many lives lived and lost in the 80’s and the communities’ experience of dealing with the devastating impact of a new and deadly virus, HIV.
The direction by Bronagh Lagan is laser focused. The music is phenomenal, composed and performed by John Patrick Elliot, who in 2022 won the Stage Debut award for Best Composer for his original score.
Slick, keen character observations, flawless voice, fast paced dialogue (with some15,000 words and thirty characters) Jack delivers a rich story with such energy you can’t help but be in awe of his stamina.
My only small critique is that, at times, it felt like system overload. An hour and 45 mins without interval the story told with such pace and vigor I was on edge keeping up with it. Perhaps a slowing down in places may have been helpful to give this piece, and the storyteller, a moment to breathe.
Breaking down barriers, dispelling myths and sharing insight into what was, as Jack Holden beautifully described, a tragic moment in Gay history, with a new deadly virus sweeping the world, much like the Covid virus today (minus urgency given to finding a cure or treatment).
Overall, a fantastic, essential story, with the same impact of the brilliant ‘It’s A Sin’, informing not only the younger LGBTQIA+ community but all communities across the UK.