Ex-teacher Chris Woodley’s debut play Next Lesson focuses on the noxious legacy of Section 28, the law that forbade the “promotion of homosexuality” in British schools. Implemented in 1988 by Thatcher’s Conservative government, it remained in law until 2003. Next Lesson traces its effects in the classroom, through a kaleidoscopic montage of sharply scripted vignettes.
by Patrick Cash
We begin in 1988 with a 14-year-old boy (Stanley Eldridge) confessing to his mother that he’s gay. His Mum admonishes he must never tell his father. As the boy grows older he moves into teaching before his fractured relationship with his parents reaches a cathartic climax towards the play’s end.
The rest of the material consists of disconnected scenes each exploring a different angle and theme. At times this lack of cohesion can feel confusing as the six highly talented actors are playing several different roles between them, but the non-linear approach also provides a freedom of depth, which may otherwise feel laboured. We travel through the years with the aid of a chalked date on a blackboard door, and choice pop music: from the Spice Girls to Blur to Snow Patrol.
Most memorable of these scenes include a teacher (Lucas Livesey) denying himself to the short shorts-wearing school handyman (Cole Michaels) who asks him out on a date. Two boys, one a rugby jock (Samuel Lawrence) and the other overtly ‘femme’ (Livesey again) appear to be completely at ease and happy as gay teenage friends discussing what boys they fancy. A PSHE teacher (Esme Patey-Ford) berates her Head of Department for being prejudiced against gay people. The utterly brilliant Anne Odeke gives a hilarious but moving account of being a teenage lesbian who stands up for herself and her form teacher against homophobia. Odeke and Patay-Ford both shine as a lesbian couple trying to reconcile the progression of their careers with being out about their love.
Next Lesson isn’t a perfect play. The quicksilver slipping of the facets is engaging, and you’re never disinterested, but it also makes it difficult to emotionally invest in characters that are on stage one moment, gone the next. You may feel like you’re watching an intelligent sketch show. However, it is an impressive play. Director Andrew Beckett skillfully guides his cast around the Pleasance’s small studio space and Woodley’s well-constructed lines. The stories, while fleeting, all feel like they need to be told.
It’s unlikely you’ll be moved to tears by Hyphen Theatre Company’s first production, but it will no doubt inspire anger, thought and dialogue about our schools that Section 28 sought to deny, and the changes we still need to see today.
• The Pleasance, North Road, Islington, N7 9EF. Tuesday 28th April
