Once upon a time in a faraway land called the 1990s, there lived a young gay man who had been transformed into a hideous Beast by a powerful spell.
Locked away in his hideaway with only an extremely talkative Magic Mirror for company, he is forced to confront the record of his relationship dramas in a quest for clues that might help break the enchantment.
And thus begins a journey of self-discovery that summons up boyfriends and breakups, some of London’s lost queer spaces from the era, and the house sounds that defined a decade.
This autobiographical show combines a queer re-telling of Beauty and the Beast with a revisionist take on the 1990s to create a kind of solo panto featuring some inevitable (but entirely voluntary) moments of audience participation.
Written and performed by Martin Moriarty
Director: Sean Ting-Hsuan Wang
Assistant Director: Sasha Tzu-Yin Hsu
Movement Director: Pamela Ching-Yun Tsou
Tobi King Bakare and this theatre deserve a shout-out for such a young, diverse audience. There is so much talk about audiences being full of over 60s and why, why can’t theatres get the crowds in to reflect society in general? Well, I’m happy to say that on a rainy Thursday evening, the theatre was completely full.
Caiti Grove on Before I Go in CPT's Spring 2023 season London Theatre Reviews
