BRIGHTON GAY MEN’S CHORUS : MOTHER CLAP’S MOLLY HOUSE
Hot from the stage on the beach with Fat Boy Slim BGMC are back with their summer concert and back with a bang too. Sat waiting for the off the still elegance of St George’s Kemp Town was pierced by the shrill squeals and laughter of a gaggle of men in corsets and panniers chasing each other through the church in an explosion of camp historical sauciness. What a sight, what beautiful costumes and what a great way to launch us all into a musical evening of song and drama. I say drama because this choir, who usually give is comedy sketches, this time deliver a play about the Molly Houses where in the 1700s gay men would gather in secret. At the time homosexuality carried a death sentence. This was an ambitious concept but one that they pulled off and particularly in the second half when the camp humour faded and the realities of the danger emerged. There were some excellent performances in the second part for sure and in particular Jonathan Taylor.
There you go, I don’t often enjoy or indeed praise these elements of BGMC’s concerts, but this time the writing and delivery was rather good.
Enough of that though and onto the music, and songs that supported the theme from seeking pleasures, to doubt and to resistance. They launched with Madonna, a woman not averse to wearing a corset on stage, and Abba, a mash up of Hung Up and Gimme Gimme Gimme that got the whole thing off to a rousing start. Next Pulp’s This Is Hardcore who took the mood down a peg or two only to be lifted by Jonathan Taylor’s laconic delivery of the Tony Hatch classic Down Town, pop at its best delivered with style.
John McPherson then gave us Wicked Little Town from Hedwig And The Angry Inch and he simply nailed it!
Jade’s Angel Of My Dreams next from the whole chorus and their excellent Toxic, far better than the original but then I do have a deep seated dislike of Britney Spears, I mean hit me Britney, you just mime!
Alanis Morisette’s Uninvited next then a solo from Jonnny Gannon with a touch of Kylie’s Love At First Sight. Church from the entire chorus had real poignancy and for me a highlight came next with What Was I Made For. Why a highlight? Well for once a solo, Kevin Prince, backed by the whole chorus and beautifully done.
Hugh Cooper’s Empty Chairs and Empty Tables from Les Mis, a song about the loss of friends sat so well in the whole evening.
BGMC’s life on Mars always stands out and musical director Tim Nail’s arrangement works so well and Joe Paxton’s mash up of Kylie and Madonna Better Devil Vogue is a showstopper for sure and the revisited list of icons here as queer icons is very moving and punched home with great projected graphics.
Part two opens with Scared Of The Dark by Steps, a poignant link to the darkness to come in the drama and then a solo from Ben Fowler of Undercover. And the drama is back and darker than before as the story unfolds. Jonathan Taylor is truly excellent as the prosecuting council as the gay men are taken to trial.
Another Tim Nail arrangement next with Bowie’s Where Are We Now, fingering the fact that in our present world the fought for freedoms that gay man and women have been able to enjoy are being chipped away by the emergence of a new fascistic right wing threat.
Rod Edmunds always delivers a beautifully sung solo and this time The Sky Above The Roof was no exception.
Raye’s I Know You’re Hurting was perhaps the least successful piece of the evening, but sitting just before Tim Nail’s next arrangement it had a lot to live up to. I was so excited to see I Do And I Don’t Care in the programme having heard it previously and to say the least been blown away.
And blown away I was once more. It is a brilliant piece of writing, Self Esteem is such a talent, and James Waite, Chris Hutchinson and Rod Edmunds make it work so effectively against the precision of the choir who clearly are loving the challenge.
Sadao Ueda acts a song, his moving performances always work and Chosen Family was a perfect choice of song to show this.
Somewhere, Bernstein and Sondheim, from West Side Story worked well within the theme and Chris Hutchinson sang it with heart and soul.
The Power Of Love, Holly Johnson’s queer anthem, sat well as the penultimate song and hoorah for another solo backed by the full chorus, Jessie Booth floating his voice above the mass sound. But the still power of this needed to be followed by an uplifting finale so what better than It’s Raining Men, an explosion of joy.
A wonderful evening of song and words, the chorus are so good and especially when delivering a big sound. If I had anything to say to detract from that it would be that I wished that they employed the confidence that they clearly have in those big numbers to the gentler and quieter moments, the talent is there for sure.
Of course we demanded a finale and what a bonus for those of us who, for whatever reason, did not go to the beach to see Fat Boy Slim. Video footage of the BGMC presence on his stage, the choir singing along, somewhat chaotically, and finally exploding from the stage and dancing in the aisles. They were having fun and that energy was infectious.
Andrew Kay
24 July
St George’s Kemp Town
Rating:
