★★★★ by Ifan Llewelyn
It’s over three decades since one of the darkest days in British politics when a government whipped into moral outrage pushed through the first piece of homophobic legislation in over a century. Looking back, the sweeping tide of history dilutes the real-life impact that this particular piece legislation had on people’s day-to-day lives. In reviving a play produced as the act came into effect, This Island’s Mine presents an engaging cross-section of gay life in Thatcher’s Britain.
Cycling back from school, seventeen-year-old Luke pauses to look out over his home town going over the talk he’s determined to have with his mother that evening. Whizzing downhill he arrives outside a newsagent plastered in the day’s homophobic headlines before peddling home defeated and dissuaded from sharing that part of himself with his mother. In London, a kitchen worker is let go after his colleagues voice their concerns to be working alongside him, and his boyfriend faces threats of violence from his own family. Luke’s uncle Martin takes him in after he decides to run away from home, making the most of retired piano teacher Miss Rosenbaum’s hospitality. Meanwhile Martin’s “wife” Marianne arrives back from the States, and is trying to convince her girlfriend to live with her.
Blended together like a Love Actually tapestry of interweaving narrative threads, this medley of queer stories presents a sweeping portrait of gay life in Thatcher’s Britain. The teen runaway, the ageing gay man, the marriage of convenience, the gay parent, the bickering couple, police brutality, fear of HIV, rejection, abandonment, alliances and community. It’s all here. Told through self-narration, each scene is painted by the work’s eloquence. Philip Osment’s work paints each scene with keen detail and sustains its momentum throughout. The work’s flirtation with cliché brings a camp sensibility to a play that runs the risk of coming together with a little too neatly which can be forgiven considering its age. The work is remarkably considerate of the diversity in British life which is truly commendable, with its questioning of The Tempest‘s Caliban being a very contemporary take on the character. It does show its age every now and then, perhaps most notable in making one too many direct comparisons between gay oppression in the UK and the Holocaust.
The company brought a real commitment to each of the characters they portrayed and, despite a few slip-ups ad the odd dodgy accent, it made for a thoroughly enjoyable production. As the runaway teen looking to experience gay life in the city, Connor Bannister has a real enthusiasm and vulnerability. Theo Fraser Steele’s take on a gay man a little past his prime is delightful and a little too relatable. The cast shines under Philip Wilson’s direction that succeeds in doing a lot in such a restrictive performance space, though the upright bed scenes feel a little like a little sketch comedy. All in all, This Island’s Mine presents an engaging account of a tempestuous time for gay Britains.
This Island’s Mine is running at the King’s Head Theatre, 115 Upper St N1 1QN until June 8th. Tickets available at KingsHeadTheatre.com.
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