Its cross generational themes give everyone something to relate to. It’s not polemical, it’s not a tragedy, it’s joyous, and it’s a must see
Choir Boys Productions have been on my radar for a while – and rightfully so. Whether it’s their sharp online promotional material or the critical acclaim they received at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, they are a company worth watching. So, when I heard they were bringing the latest version of their award winning comedy An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo at Waterloo East Theatre, I jumped at the chance to see it.
Set within a traditional all-boys boarding school – a space that is known to cheer not for acceptance but rather rugby – we meet Johnny, played by the show’s writer Ned Blackburn. Johnny is 18, can’t play rugby, runs a successful Britney Spears fan account on Instagram, and is a self-proclaimed “raging homosexual”. He also has sex secretly and constantly with the school’s golden boy, Harry (Harvey Weed) a prefect, who is popular, good-looking and insists he’s not gay but just “likes to fuck boys”. Cracks start to form in the complicated relationship and Johnny begins to question why Sam, another openly gay student, mysteriously left the school.
Told through a mix of direct address and character scenes, Blackburn’s writing is fast paced and witty, as he uses stunningly specific observational humour coupled with fourth wall breaks to take the audience on a tour of Johnny’s life at school. Blackburn’s performance is equally captivating as he instinctively hops and skips from line to line with a sense of play. Building an immediate rapport with the audience enables him to make them laugh at just a simple glance – loveable classics like the awkwardness of Miranda and the chaos of Fleabag come to mind.
Meanwhile, Weed’s dynamic multi-roling gives life to Johnny’s world. As switches between a breadth of characters such as; the elderly conservative grandpa, the forthcoming Grindr user to a strict headmaster and many others. Each archetype is paired with a piece of indicative costume, but it’s Weed’s idiosyncratic performances that do the heavy lifting.
What I like about this play is its subtlety. On the surface it is incredibly funny, engaging and accessible but beneath lies a complex story of repression, queerness, coping and youth. Consent is a really interesting topic alluded to throughout the play, a particular moment involves Weed playing an unserious PSE teacher, who shows Johnny’s class the infamous and overly simplified “tea analogy”. Later on during a fun choreographed sex scene to “Gimme More” by Britney Spears, Johnny hands Harry a condom which he briefly considers using, then throws it behind him and they carry on. This moment passes quickly, but is loaded with implications. Reminding us that no matter how much you spend on education, you can’t pay for empathy or open mindedness.
Moments like this are where direction is important, Meg Bowron and Joshua Stainer are clearly a directorial duo with an eye for detail, each scene is well rehearsed and carefully considered. Bowron hand painted detailed initials on Johnny and Harry’s luggage trunks, which each internally decorated with character defined details (Britney for Johnny and rugby players for Harry). The central multipurpose, built by the producer Lizzie Hawke’s father, is fringe innovation at its best.
The show makes clear that it is “not a gay tragedy”, it’s about navigating the muddiness of adolescence and having to go through it to come out of it. For many in the audience Johnny and Harry’s relationship feels familiar, it is reminiscent of that formative relationship we all wish we could have dealt with differently but in retrospect you learnt the most from, so you would not change a thing. Its cross generational themes give everyone something to relate to. It’s not polemical, it’s not a tragedy, it’s joyous, and it’s a must see.
After winning Broadway Baby’s Bobby Award Last year at Just The Tonic, Choir Boy Productions return this summer at Underbelly in Bristo Square 30th July – 25th August (not the 11th). But you can see them before then during their UK tour in London at Waterloo East till 25th, in Bristol at the Alma Tavern on 26th and in Manchester Waterside Arts 30-31st.