Edward II ☆☆☆☆☆ Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London “All they that love not tobacco & boys are fools”, Christopher Marlowe famously declared, and whilst there’s no tobacco in his play Edward II, there’s plenty of boy-love – and plenty of fools. Nick Bagnall’s production foregrounds the central love triangle of King Edward (Tom Stuart), Gaveston … Continue reading
Lipstick: A Fairy Tale of Modern Iran ☆☆ Omnibus Theatre I really, really wanted to like this. Great, I thought, once I’d read the blurb, a play exploring Iran’s queer subculture, about a boy who transforms every night into a beautiful woman. I was looking forward to it and invited a queer Iranian friend … Continue reading
The View UpStairs ☆☆☆ Soho Theatre, London The real life event forming the basis and inspiration for this musical is the arson attack in 1973 on a queer bar in New Orleans, killing 32 people (mostly gay men); woefully underreported at the time due to strong levels of societal homophobia. In 1973, 7 out … Continue reading
Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist ☆☆☆☆☆ The Vault Festival Walt (BYRON LANE, who also wrote the script) is at the end of his tether. He hates his job, his cheating boyfriend has dumped him, and the burger he just had delivered has pickles on it, which he … Continue reading
Bleach ☆☆☆☆ Back in the 90s, inspired by the likes of Tim Miller in the US and Neil Bartlett in the UK, I co-founded The Planet Martha Theatre Company with the actor Matthew Scott. He performed my scripts in one-man shows that addressed contemporary gay issues and represented queer sex and queer lives, inspired … Continue reading