A friend of mine has done a far more erudite review than I could ever write of the current play “The Pride” showing at Richmond Theatre – written by Alexi Kaye Campbell. They loved it – “very cutting edge” apparently. Wish I had seen it because, sadly the issues that are highlighted below still remain a real problem in many parts of the world – particularly Africa and the Middle East.
Here is his review:-
As the human race makes its tortured journey way towards a cosmopolitan global community the necessity for tolerance, compassion and understanding will be paramount. None more so than in the acceptance of gay people as equal citizens by the heterosexual majority. The Pride – by Alexi Kaye Campbell will, I’m sure, make an important contribution to that outcome. Literature has in the past provided key moments in the development of the enlightenment of humanity. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin in the fight against slavery or Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist in the expose of child poverty. It may be that The Pride will play a similar role in the struggle for full equality for homosexual men and women, not just formally and legally but culturally and psychologically.
The Pride is set in London but cleverly jumps from 1958 to 2013, this alternating structure allows us to experience the changes but also the continuity of the issues. The opening scene presents us with the three main characters the married couple Philip & Sylvia and Oliver the single man. In a very formal 1950s English setting the dynamics between these three are established. Setting the play in the 1950’s – before the 1965 legislation legalising homosexual acts between consenting adults – allows The Pride to demonstrate the claustrophobic nature of a world in which gays had to pretend all the time. We see Philip the estate agent pretending to be a happily married man because he can’t be who he really is because it’s a crime! These scenes set in the 1950’s bring home very powerfully the miserable reality of everyday life for gays before 1965. Pretending, lying, fear of blackmail, fear of arrest, being beaten up and all the other brutalities that were normal.
Then the play jumps in the most startling way to 2013. With Oliver being humiliated voluntarily in a sado-masochistic encounter with a Nazi brilliantly played by Mathew Horne. Shouting “you are a fucking useless piece of fucking shit” to a kneeling Oliver one is astonished both by the setting – a Nazi in full SS uniform but also by how quickly within seconds the actors have changed clothes and accents to create 2013. The quality of the acting by all four – Harry Hadden-Paton, Al Weaver, Naomi Sheldon & Mathew Horne – is breathtaking. The Pride is a sound play in many ways but especially in these 2013 scenes which demonstrate all too well that legally equality has not resolved the dilemmas facing gay men and women. In 2013 Philip and Oliver can be openly gay and live together which was not possible in 1958 however now other issues come to the fore. Especially sexual addiction. Oliver is addicted to casual sex. Philip feels betrayed and so walks out on him. Having first walked in on him with a Nazi! This scene brings us to the heart of the play: freedom is a necessary but not a sufficient condition of life. Freedom can be abused. As Oliver finds to his cost. Pursuing his addiction to sex he loses the love of his life Philip. Freedom has to be tempered by responsibility, trust, commitment. This is the hard lesson Oliver learns.
There are some wonderful comic scenes The Pride and some fantastic one liners – “From now on I shall only give blow jobs to social workers & yoga teachers !” or “except dolphins who spend all their time swimming with autistic children “ or “ I hope I look like that when I’m 94 if you look like that when your 94 I’ll have you arrested” – and the constant switches from 1958 to 2013 give the play a dynamic forward drive. The stage set is dominated by a huge mirror with doors at both ends through which the actors come and go with astonishing swiftness and dexterity changing clothes, accents and time periods. The mirror acts as both a reflection of the on-stage action but also as a window through which the audience sees the play. This metaphor of art as both a window on the world and holding up a mirror to human nature is one of the plays most effective devices. 10 out 10 to the stage designers.
The Pride is a play that stays with one and demands a second viewing. If we are to create a global cosmopolitan community we all have a responsibility to make it happen. The Pride is an important signpost on that road and for that reason alone must be seen. At curtain call Harry, Naomi, Al & Mathew return holding banners proclaiming “To Russia with Love”. Not only a reference to Mr Putin’s recent comments at Sochi but demonstrating that the struggle is truly global.
