A stylish and relevant production but the imbalance of the acting rather takes the shine off what could have been a stunning production. Nonetheless it’s a fine piece of theatre, done well, perfectly timed but perhaps tastier with a half kilo less of rant, and a cup full more of conviction.
Simon Callow gives a stunning bravura performance in this Frank McGuiness adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s famous monologue. On a caste black-draped stage, a sturdy chair is lit from above by an uncompromising interrogator’s light. In the chair sits Oscar Wilde, coming towards the end of his prison sentence in Reading Gaol.
This collection of quotations by and about gay people is a celebration of the advances in LGBT rights in the UK over the last half-century and a demonstration of the battle against oppression and prejudice that led to them. From a diverse range of people across the world, funny ones are interspersed with extracts from revealing interviews and diary entries. A delightfully well presented and researched classy addition to anyone’s’ queer book-stack but then the Author bring a heft of class with him Christopher Tinker Editing Manager of the National Gallery and an introduction from Simon Callow all round lovvie extraordinaire.
On Sunday, February 15 2015, the Arcola Theatre in Hackney, London, is hosting Homosexual Acts, a gala benefit to mark the 40th anniversary of the opening of the first gay theatre season in Britain.
