As LGBT+ History Month comes to a close, there are some excellent productions by queer theatre-makers to look forward to.
FutureQueer has its last performance at the new King’s Head Theatre studio space on 2 March. It’s said to be sold out but check the box office. I’m sure that the multi-talented Alexis Gregory’s look at queer life in the distant future,with a strong emphasis on Donna Summer, will make another bow before long.
Also at the King’s Head, Turning The Screw returns after a successful run at New Wimbledon Theatre’s studio in 2022. It examines the role of power, the vulnerable and saying no to a closeted cultural icon of the time. Centre stage is the life of classical composer Benjamin Britten as he grapple with his homosexuality, while composing the opera The Turn Of The Screw.
Britten persuades the young star of the opera into the home he shares with singer Peter Pears, with dramatic consequences for all three men. It’s written by Kevin Kelly and directed by actor/singer/producer/director Tim McArthur. Tickets HERE
Cowboys and Lesbians runs at Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, London till 9 March. This Edinburgh Fringe smash hit is a modern day love story about two sarcastic teenagers, taking Hollywood’s typical first love cliches and flipping them on their head, creating a different kind of rom com. It’s written and directed by Billie Esplen. Tickets HERE
52 Monologues for Young Transexuals runs at Soho Theatre from 4-16 March. This queer cabaret dives into the raw realities of discovering oneself as a trans woman, in all its messy, painful and honest glory – covering pagan ritual, Streisand, BDSM, spit and skepta. The show veers from lip syncing to audience participation, comedy routines, and a moving monologue on motherhood. Tickets HERE
Frank’s Closet, the cult hit musical, returns to London at the Union Theatre in Southwark from 6-30 March. The show was the Off-West End hit of 2009. It resurfaces with new material by writer/composer Stuart Wood and director Sasha Regan.
Frank teeters on the precipice of marriage to Alan, who’s given Frank an ultimatum: he must give up the toys and joys of being single and donate his fabulous collection of the dresses of iconic divas to the V & A Museum.
Frank retreats from reality through the magic portal of his closet door, where the divas visit him in turn and give varying degrees of reliable advice. Will the frocks or the fiancée triumph? Andy Moss is Frank and Luke Farrugia plays the divas. I’m guessing this is high camp entertainment that ‘s not to be missed. Tickets HERE
Coming soon: my round up of the best of this year’s BFI Flare Film Festival, a delve into the world of sex workers and the stage, and a preview of the LGBTQ+ Iris Film Festival as it visits Brighton. All in Scene magazine.
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