Out and proud on Gareth’s road to Damascus

Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage (Sherman Theatre, Cardiff and touring) Verdict: Proud and out

ONE of the lessons of this drama about gay Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas is that lying to yourself about your sexuality takes real strength of character. But not as much as it takes to ‘come out’ to a rugby dressing room.

Robin Soans’s play tells Thomas’s story through verbatim accounts of the man from an early age when he was nicknamed Alfie — after the alien in U.S. TV show Alf.

Growing up through the miners’ strike, being gay seemed as far off as the Big Bang. Being the first Welshman to win 100 caps for his country was all Alfie was about.

Soans’s play is a tale of Pauline transformation, with Thomas struck down on his own road to Damascus after a failed marriage marked by three miscarriages.

The clever thing is the way the cast of six take turns to play Thomas’s character. For the coming out scene, it’s a tearful, childlike actress, Katie Elin-Salt. A gay girly stereotype here? Maybe, but in the nicest possible way.