The Pride

The Pride is a subtly glittering negotiation of gay identity that transcends time. It is as measured and reserved as it is gregarious and camp. The juxtapositions of queerness in different time periods and for different people, members of the homo- and heterosexual communities, are laden with gravity. No moment of the two-hour 40-minute show is extraneous. Each action is a stark fit to the narrative arch that says, "How do I be myself in this type of world?"

Philip and Oliver, played by Simon London and Matt Minto, respectively, are two gay men. One pair exists in 1958, an era of repression and normality, of stringent conservatism. The other exists in the present, the theme park of casual sex and camp gaiety, a time, though, with its own issues for the LGBTQI community. Their juxtaposition is brutal, an enlightening look at the progress we've made. Their exploration, though, and this is to the credit of the playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell, does not conclude a bygone era as one that was crueller. The issues faced by the contemporary queer community are not understated. The glorification and fetishisation of casual and anonymous sex is elevated to a sincerely distressing trouble. It is navigated by the cast and creatives with finesse.

Theatrically speaking, the only point of the play that rose a query was a transition or two. And for a play of this length and ambition, this is to say that it was perfect. For a touching, apt, and visceral analysis of queer male identity from 1958 through to today, this is unmissable.