TIM BAROS REVIEWS THE PRIDE AT LONDON’S TRAFALGAR STUDIOS
W hat if you lived in a time when homosexuality was a crime, when it was considered a disease, a sexual deviation that was not accepted by most of society?
Now take a look at today, where being gay is accepted in most parts of the world and in certain circles is also considered “fashionable”. The differences between then and now are what is explored in The Pride.
The Pride takes place in two different time periods - 1958 and 2008 - and tells the story of two men who are in love with each other but are somehow prevented from being together through circumstances. Both time periods are interspersed with each other to brutally show the differences between gay relationships, then and now. The same actors play characters in both time periods as well, to great effect.
In 1958, Sylvia (Hayley Atwell) and her husband Philip (Harry Hadden-Patton) are living a marriage of lies. Sylvia is uncomfortable and unsure of her husband in their marriage as he doesn’t appear to be the man she thinks he is. Things gets worse when Sylvia invites her new boss, children’s author Oliver (Al Weaver), over to their home for drinks. Oliver, who is obviously gay, brings out some kind of spark in the closeted Philip.
In 2008, we have the same love triangle. This time journalist Oliver is in a relationship with Philip, but not a very happy one. Oliver loves to have sex, with anyone, anytime, anywhere, much to Philip’s dismay. Sylvia, as Oliver’s best friend, is the unfortunate one to lend an ear to the always complaining Oliver, though she makes sure he doesn’t destroy her chances for her own new romance. Juxtaposing from one dramatic era to another, The Pride successfully and loudly proclaims its message, that we have come a long way from 1958.
Atwell is a revelation as the unhappy and passive 1958 housewife, and almost unrecognisable as the 2008 bubbly-yet-needs-her-own-space best friend. Weaver is fine in both eras, coming to his own in the 2008 Oliver who has his cake and eats it too (meaning he still wants to be with Philip but also wants to taste others out there as well). If Hadden-Patton gives a subdued performance in both time periods as Philip, we can understand why: closeted in one era and being cheated on in another. Mathew Horne, who is not part of any of the show’s love triangles, shows up in various guises: in 1958 as a doctor who helps to cure Philip of his homosexuality, and in 2008 as a Nazi-imitator hired by Oliver to realise one of his sexual fantasies. Horne provides much comic relief between the very heavy dramatic eras, scenes which make this play rise above the many gay-themed relationship plays that we have seen over the past decade. Writer Alexi Kaye Campbell has written a relevant and very good play that will make you proud of being gay and happy that we now live in a climate where being gay is not a crime but accepted and celebrated.
At the opening night of The Pride, the stars held up signs that said “To Russia With Love” - in protest against Russia’s recent clampdown on gay rights. Atwell recently told the Evening Standard, “The play doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s an attempt to say what it has to say but there’s a lot of humour. It’s not a play that’s only for the gay community.”
Take her advice, and take your friends and family, to see The Pride.