Review: THE FAGGOTS AND THEIR FRIENDS BETWEEN REVOLUTIONS, Queen Elizabeth Hall

Reclaim, Inform, Embrace.

The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions has relocated to the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall for its London premiere, having run at Manchester International Festival. The performance is billed as a ‘music theatre piece rewriting the history of the world through a joyful and utopian queer lens’ and is based on the 1977 cult fantasy novel on sexual liberation and radical revolutionary aphorisms by Larry Mitchell, illustrated by Ned Asta.

We enter to a joyful atmosphere, with the audience anticipating the best kind of drama, whilst taking in an enormous stage containing fifteen performers. The set is stark and the space looms, but this starkness is the first indicator of what is to come, as we enter a world of contrasts. The direction and text led by Ted Huffman, is a direct tribute to the work of Mitchell and is reminiscent of Brechtian style, where the importance of critical and objective states of understanding are sought to shock the audience into ensuring themes and messaging are the absolutely key.

The work is episodic, distinguished by the ring of a gold bell, to deliberately create disjointed yet enthralling as the ethic is undeniably inclusive, boasting a multitalented cast of artists with melodic aptitude, boasting opera singers, elite musicians and even physical theatre acrobatic tumblers.

The Mitchell prose is interwoven with opera and varied instruments creating gravitas of the queer experience. This powerful inspection of the original work creates a historical look at the struggle and imparting a sense of immutability and defiance. Discomfort, non-conformity and a challenge to the ‘airless tall buildings’ filled with paper is relished and celebrated. The disruption descends and travels, arriving at a sing-a-long audience song where the house lights are up for full impact. We are treated to sensual dancing, paper fights, a running bleep test (90’s era secondary school goers will recognise the exhaustion!) drum beats,duck, duck goose and 10 violins in unison.

The cast is energetic, devoted to the vision and thoroughly on a group mission to destroy the patriarchy. Kerry Bursey, Jacob Garside, Kit Green, Conor Gricmanis, Deepa Johnny, Mariamielle Lamagat, Eric Lamb, Themba Mvula, Yshani Perinpanayagam, Meriel Price, Collin Shay, Dan Shelvey, Joy Smith, Sally Swanson and Yandass deserve their names in lights, for the sheer commitment.

A standout song ‘In the corner of the city is a house’ is gentle, nostalgic and a welcome moment to reflect on how beautiful the LGBTQI+ community are. The performance is a true gaze at otherness and the power of allies.

The message is heard loud and clear to reclaim negative vocabulary, revolt against the bland, inform to become powerful and embrace uniting with allies.

The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions, ran at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall from 25-28 January 2024

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