After the Act at HOME
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
We always get excited when the award-winning Breach Theatre play at HOME Manchester. This November, the company bring After the Act, a new scorching protest musical that traces the infamous Section 28 anti-gay legislation.
Thatcher’s Section 28 – enacted in 1988 – banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools and local authorities in the UK. One of the most heinous pieces of legislation to be introduced in the 20th century, it silenced a generation and offered a global blueprint for LGBTQ+ oppression. Breach Theatre’s electrifyingly angry new production tells the story of this legislation and how it brought shame, secrecy, isolation, trauma and abuse to those growing up under it.
In a verbatim style, and as with Breach’s previous work – such as Tank and It’s True, It’s True, It’s True – writers Ellice Stevens and Billy Barrett have taken the words of real people to tell the story. Through authentic testimony from students, activists and teachers, Parliamentary transcripts, news reports and other materials from the time, Breach present the real-life effects of one of the cruelest legislations in history.
At this point, we should remind you that it’s a musical. Funny, camp and unapologetically queer, a joyous and exhilarating live score accompanies the inspiring, though often heartbreaking, verbatim accounts. Ultimately, After the Act is an exposure of the political playbook used to pass repressive legislation and the story of a generation who decided to fight back.
Don’t leave it too late to get your tickets to this invigorating and fiery performance by one of the country’s brightest theatre companies.
