The League of St George is the second part of a double-bill of new writing at the exciting Hope Theatre in Islington, dedicated to showcasing new talent.
Written by Georgia Bliss, it follows the story of young Adam (the wonderful Oliver Tunstall), who has to adjust his personal conflict between the racist and homophobic League of St George skinhead gang of which he is a part, with his hidden homosexual tendencies. When Adam meets an Indian waiter named Nilay in a public toilet for sex and begins a relationship with him this conflict reaches breaking point, as balances personal happiness against the risk of exposure to his bigoted, violent fellow gang members.
Sounds familiar? Yes, because this is essentially the plot to Hanif Kureishi’s seminal My Beautiful Laundrette, where this concept is wrought so finely and poignantly, one wouldn’t expect a new writer to want to tread the same ground. Whereas’ Bliss’s play obviously had significant differences, for me personally it couldn’t shake itself out of Kureishi’s shadow, nor that of other recent re-examinations of the 70s/80s period such as Shane Meadow’s This is England, to which the League of St George suffered in comparison.
Whereas productions deserve to be assessed on one level upon their own merits, they also require a critical judgement of how they fit into their wider cultural sphere. There was some excellent acting in this production – particularly from the skinheads themselves, and the father (Jim Walker) – and Bliss proved that she could write strong, punchy dialogue, aside from a bizarre scene with two old women that seemed to hold no coherence to the wider structure. The punk song interludes added edgy energy. However, ultimately it just felt like it had all been done before.
We are living in a time of the BNP and the EDL and where there are palpable tensions between the white working class and ethnic minority communities. Bliss could have set this play in 2013 and have had an exciting and exceptional production on her hands. As it was, unfortunately it didn’t feel that this content needed revisiting.
• The Hope Theatre, 207 Upper Street, Islington, N1 1RL
• Running until Saturday 30th November, 7.30pm. £14 (£12 concs).
