MIF23: The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions at HOME
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
A thrilling world premiere takes over HOME’s Theatre 1 for Manchester International Festival 2023. We’re intrigued (and excited) as composer Philip Venables and director Ted Huffman join forces to present a musical retelling of Larry Mitchell and Ned Asta’s cult 1977 novel The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions. This vibrant musical adaptation – featuring a talented ensemble of actors, singers and musicians – reconsiders the history of the world through a queer lens.
Anarchic and liberated, The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions reimagines fables and myths to champion queer community, friendship and pleasure. Expect a world on the brink of revolution, all-night raves and cheerleading set against court dances and lute music.
Joyful and kaleidoscopic, the show has been described as the “ultimate anarchic bedtime story”. A vivacious celebration of queer experience – both vulnerable and provocative – a performance where personal stories are shared and soothed through community.
The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions is headed up by a world-class creative duo. Multi award-winning composer Philip Venables, who has been described by The Guardian as “one of the finest composers around” will collaborate with writer and director Ted Huffman, who recently directed L’incoronazione di Poppea for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, which was subsequently nominated for Best Production at the International Opera Awards 2022 and named in The New York Times’ Best Classical Music Performances of 2022.
A radical, playful and thought-provoking performance.
Of the show composer Philip Venables told us: “Faggots and their Friends is both a joyful and sinister bedtime story, a playful re-telling of ‘how we got where we are today’, with song, music, dancing, improvisation, storytelling and heaps of glorious faggotry. I’ve never made anything as free, as open and celebratory as this before, so I’m incredibly excited to present it to Manchester audiences.”
Bringing together dance, theatre and song, and running at 90 minutes with no interval, The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions looks to be a hot ticket for MIF23. A radical, playful and thought-provoking performance.
