The Boys In The Band

It’s around 50 years since this milestone of theatre was written and first produced and in those years it has lost none of its poignancy or power. Yes it’s a comedy on one level and a razor sharp one at that, and this extraordinary cast deliver every barbed line with both skill and relish. But more than comedy lies here. This is a play about respect, about disrespect, about love and self love. This is a diverse group of gay men bound together only by their sexuality. It is perhaps the one thing they have in common but it is soon clear that it is not enough as the party descends into bitterness.

The cast is excellent, it will only work if you can believe in them and their associations and you really can. Ian Hallard’s gradual descent through the play is beautifully delivered, an extraordinarily moving performance. Daniel Boys is the perfect foil as self doubting friend Harold, and James Holmes delivers an Emery that is cloyingly brittle and likeable too. The battle between sissy gays and butch gays is never better explored but it is far more than that. This play is about self belief and respect within the gay ‘community’ and not about prejudices from outside. Director Adam Penford drills deep down into that and does it with a great deal of intelligence. As for Mark Gatiss, he makes an entrance so imperious that is a wonder that no-one has yet cast him as Lady Bracknell. His incisive portrayal of birthday boy Harold is stylish and powerful, his lines, fewer than one might expect, are pithy and cruel, but in the end he is perhaps the one survivor of the birthday party from hell. Hats off too to John Hopkins who brings fragile “straight” man Alan fully to life, not an easy role in this fine exploration of bile and campery. In fact there is not a weak member of this first class company.

The gay community may have achieved a level of equality now and a level of acceptance too, but within our own ranks are we any more accepting? I fear not.

8 November

Theatre Royal Brighton

Andrew Kay

5 stars