After the Act: A Section 28 Musical

After The Act: A Section 28 Musical. A Breach Theatre production, at Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, on Friday 1 November and Saturday 2 November.

Preview.

 Following a record-breaking, sold out run at London's New Diorama, and a critically acclaimed transfer to the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Breach Theatre’s After The Act comes to Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 November 2024.

After the Act is written by Ellice Stevens and Billy Barrett, directed by Billy Barrett, original score by Frew, Songs by Frew, Ellice Stevens and Billy Barrett. Cast: Frew, Ericka Posadas, Nkara Stephenson, Ellice Stevens, Zachary Willis. Casting by Nick Hockaday.

 This new documentary musical examines the long shadow of Section 28, the UK legislation that prohibited the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools. Created to mark 35 years since it was voted into law by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, and 20 years since its repeal, award-winning theatre makers Breach’s new musical gives voice to those who grew up under the act.

After the Act. Zachary Willis. Photo by Alex Brenner.

Breach is an award-winning theatre company whose previous work includes It’s True, It’s True, It’s True which toured widely and was filmed for the BBC. The company – which was co-founded by University of Warwick alumni Ellice Stevens and Billy Barrett - uncovers true stories that captivate audiences: from a 1970’s experiment into teaching dolphins English, to a rape trial in Renaissance Rome. Its work combines forensic research with playfulness, politics and, in After the Act, a banging soundtrack!

Ellice and Billy from Breach Theatre said: “As part of the generation that grew up under Section 28, this is a story that's hugely personal to us as well as political. The moral panic of the 1980's over LGBT-inclusive education had an enormous impact on our coming of age and sense of ourselves as young queer people in the nineties and noughties. It's been fascinating and a real privilege to speak to so many LGBT people of a slightly older generation who remember the fight for and against Section 28, and to people of all ages on its impact on them. Unfortunately, since creating this show, their stories feel more relevant and urgent than ever. We hope that by telling them, anyone who comes to see After the Act will be inspired to continue the fight for LGBT+ rights and representation.”

After the Act - Zachary Willis, Ellice Stevens. Photo by Alex Brenner.

With (almost) every word in the show taken from interviews with students, activists, and teachers, as well as from tabloid articles and news clips from the era, After The Act takes us from the adolescent anguish of the classroom to the heated debates of Parliament via euphoric celebration and impassioned street demonstrations, while Frew’s joyously exuberant original score, performed live, conjures the beating heart of the 1980s.

Accessibility: Saturday performance will be BSL interpreted; Sunday performance will be relaxed.

Tickets: £25/£20; Students and U26 £12. Box Office: 024 7649 6000 or visit: www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/whats-on/nqb-after-the-act/

 For more on Breach Theatre: www.breachtheatre.com