Celebrate Manchester Pride at HOME: My Son’s a Queer Review
Rob Madge was a theatrical sensation from a very young age. They were a star of stage and screen from infancy: the stage, their living room and the screen, a fuzzy ‘90s VHS recording. Compiling professional and personal experience, it’s no wonder that Madge is in their absolute element in this award-winning show.
Bringing together an incredibly comprehensive compilation of home video tapes with live-action comedy narrative and musical interludes, My Son’s a Queer offers 75 mins of joyful storytelling.
The set design, by Ryan Dawson Laight, celebrates Madge’s humble beginnings on their living room stage by supercharging an antique sideboard and sprinkling nigh on every surface in glitter. An enormous screen dominates the stage, centring the majority of the action in Madge’s hilariously theatrical archive footage.
The sheer sass that emanates from young Rob in these masterfully curated home videos is an undeniable comedy highlight. Yet, under direction from Luke Sheppard, the play is careful not to descend into a gratuitous clip show. Instead, Madge’s autobiographical stylings form a well-crafted production, leading us through a step-by-step guide for putting on your own parade and finding your own pride. In amongst, we encounter stand-up comedy, self-parody, and plentiful singsong (courtesy of music by Pippa Cleary).
But it’s not all sparkles and role-play. My Son’s a Queer follows a real lived experience, including some heart-wrenching moments on the journey to self-acceptance and true, full-colour self-expression. But, in doing so, these more sombre moments form a beautiful tribute to Madge’s parents and their unconditional love and acceptance.
When Rob triumphantly sings “and even for those who decide not to stay, we will be loved anyway”, the crowd are moved to an ovation. This truly is the most wonderful way to celebrate Manchester Pride.
From the outset, the show revels in its unapologetic sense of nostalgia. At its core, this production combines the best parts of You’ve Been Framed with Mrs Doubtfire’s living room talk show, all wrapped up in a bedazzled Fringe musical.
Sprinkled therein we find a lovingly selected, personal collection of props that spotlight the show’s authenticity and celebrate an incredibly well-documented life! For many audience members, the props and anecdotes throughout will spark memories of our own treasured memories. (You guessed it, I was a Stagecoach kid and a tyrannical actor, director, and producer of living room theatre too!) But whether you identify personally with Rob’s story or not, this referential comedy resonates with an entire generation of 90s kids turned eccentric millennials.
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that it really is no mean feat to command an audience entirely alone. But Madge, accompanied by some meticulously synchronised AV (Simon Nathan), maintains a captivating pace. He is energetic and sardonic in equal measure, playing in a double act with their younger self.
This production is a must-see for all precocious living room theatre kids, the siblings they “directed”, and the parents who supported and patiently endured. Laughing out loud is guaranteed, shedding a tear is an optional bonus (that I indulged in), and you’ll be inescapably compelled to rise from your seats - perhaps even midway through the show!
My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?) plays at HOME, Manchester from Mon 19 Aug – Sun 25 Aug. For tickets and more information, visit the HOME MCR website.
Or follow @mysonsaqueer and its colourful creator @robmadge02 on Instagram for more updates from the UK tour.
For more review from Manchester’s HOME theatre, explore our archive.
