Guest Blog: Victoria Hamilton-Barritt On THE VIEW UPSTAIRS

I feel very lucky to have grown up in London. Growing up in a mixed-race, progressive and tolerant family, from a young age I learnt of acceptance. Not tolerance. Accepting people for who they are, whoever they are, is central to my life.

Often feeling like an outcast growing up, moving into theatre was an easy decision for me, a medium that celebrates diversity and the people who are often sidelined in society. I believe it's no coincidence that the spiritual heart of both theatre and the LGBT+ community is Soho. Not that they're mutually exclusive; the communities are more than collaborative, they're intertwined. Pride is the biggest event in the theatre community calendar and one I look forward to every year.

When I was cast in The View UpStairs, I knew it was a great opportunity to be involved in a show that highlights the struggles of the LGBT+ community. Breathe life into death and educate.

I play the part of Inez, a Puerto Rican single mother to Freddy, a drag queen and performer at the bar. She's a maternal woman whose world revolves around her son. She makes his costumes, does his make-up, and lives her dreams through him and his performances.

Running rehearsals in June has been a very poignant time for the cast, the creatives and team. It's a month when significant events have shaken the LGBT+ landscape, with the 50-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots (28th), the Orlando Nightclub Shooting (12th) and the UpStairs Lounge Fire (24th).

Rehearsing a new show is always exciting and challenging, and The View UpStairs is no different. We, the cast, ran through a process with Jonathan O'Boyle to develop our characters, both as individuals and as part of the community, through our own research of pictures and facts of what the show is about.

It's heartbreaking to draw out the vulnerability of our characters, individuals who were often rejected by their own families and furthermore oppressed by both the social and legal systems of the era. Together, we had to reach back to 1973, to New Orleans.

Stonewall and every other past event have helped consolidate June as Pride Month. We're lucky in London - Pride is a time for celebration, but others are not so lucky. For much of the world, Pride still demands acts of social defiance, just like they did at Stonewall. Acts of defiance where gay men and women of the past said, "Enough! No more! This is who I am, who I love, and I won't hide it anymore."

They took a stand, so that many others today don't have to. They set us free. When we take the past with us and bring it to life, it can spread a positive message to those who still struggle. Acceptance can happen everywhere. Look how far we've come.

Here, I have a chance to be part of something that draws on the experiences of these horrific events and bring what many dismiss as 'just a news story' to life. I feel people are often detached from such events; news can lack the personal stories within the event, the way real people's lives have been affected. It's so important to draw those experiences out and lay them bare. This happened - hear it, see it, feel it. Don't change the subject and don't you dare look away.

LGBT+ acceptance has come a long way in London, but I worry that the progress we've made is always in danger of sliding back. Acceptance must be normal - anything else is wrong. People need to be reminded and it must be championed through as many mediums as possible, until we all push acceptance past tolerance. I don't want it to be about acceptance. I want it to be normal.

I really believe that 'If you love them, set them free.' And that goes for yourself too. Be true in what you love, and you'll be free.

The View UpStairs at Soho Theatre 18 July-24 August

Photo credit: Darren Bell

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