See it if you're keen to see more queer histories brought to life on the British stage, especially one with a beautifully nuanced and funny cast
Don't see it if staging is important to you Read more
See it if You like a new play
Don't see it if You don’t like a studenty aesthetic. Read more
See it if You enjoy historical drama based on a true story with superb lead performances
Don't see it if You prefer musicals
"The whole thing is too gimmicky and too self-conscious in its juxtaposition of different eras to really work."
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“We’re passing through a phase where dramatists addressing the question of gender identity seem to place uplift above all else. This is not a healthy trend. Fist-clenching activists may be happy enough; the rest of us are left starved of subtlety and insight.”
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“It’s a sprawling tragi-comic love story that explores contemporary issues around sex, gender and the violent oppression of people whose lives do not conform to narrow societal expectations.”
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"It's a great piece of storytelling: profoundly moving and wildly funny, delicate yet tough, it's part of a real human journey that is still going on. A triumph."
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“There's something so lovable about this play and its quest to find a golden thread of joy in a dark, tattered old story.”
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"If the scenes with soldiers and the ball, as well as the court, feel a bit underpopulated, with cartoonish acting, the intimate exchanges work really well. Despite its problems, a beautifully provocative and engaging show."
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"Thomas has done a valuable thing in bringing this terribly sad story into the light, but her play tells us less about who these two extraordinary people were and how they lived, and more about how we choose to think of gender in the present day."
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"This is not a boy-meets-girl story with a happy ending. It is a boundary-smashing non-conforming tale of a genuine queer pioneer reminding us all that these real-life stories are not new."
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