HIV and its devastating effect on the gay community in the 1980s has been the subject of some compulsive dramatisations in recent times.
Russell T Davies’ Channel Four offering It’s A Sin, set in London during the public health crisis, was widely acclaimed as one of the best serials to appear in 2021, while last year’s collaboration between the BBC and the Open University, Aids: The Unheard Tapes, brought archive testimonies into the public realm for the first time in a stylish format that was both riveting and humbling.
Now Dundee-based dance company Shaper/Caper is set to unveil a new piece of interactive theatre that turns the clock back some 40 years, taking as its main protagonist a young queer man who leaves his small hometown behind to take refuge in the bright lights of the big city.
As with so many in his situation in the early to mid-80s, he finds a sense of belonging in a thriving LGBTQ+ nightlife – but the terrifying reality of the unfolding “gay disease”, as HIV/Aids was pejoratively referred to at the time, soon hits home.
An often nostalgic look at the escapism of the gay scene in that period through dance and spoken word, Gardyne Theatre and Dundee Rep co-production Small Town Boys is being directed and choreographed by Thomas Small.
Stories ‘help us learn from queer history’
Formerly BBC Radio 2’s inaugural artist-in-residence, Shaper/Caper’s creative figurehead says one of the main intentions behind the new work – which opens at King’s Nightclub in Dundee on Tuesday – is to push for silenced LGBTQ+ voices to be heard.
“Sharing these stories helps us understand and learn from queer history, equipping us better to defend our communities today,” Thomas explains.
“Small Town Boys is a scale up from Shaper/Caper’s previous work, with eight dancers, a community cast and an amazing creative team. This has been made possible by Creative Scotland’s funding and our partners on the project, so we feel lucky to have that chance to expand.
“There’s a lot of joy in bringing together a group of wonderful queer people.”
Community cast give show a Dundonian feel
The cast of dancers who are set to bring the seismic period in LGBTQ+ history to life – in all its joys and tragedies – comprises Naissa Bjørn, Jake Evans, TJ Firmin, Alex Gosmore, Benji Knapper, Alex McCrossan, Dominic Rocca and Ellis Saul.
A group of volunteers ranging from experienced dancers to complete novices make up the separate “community cast”, whose primary role is to bridge the obvious physical gap that exists between audience and performers in most conventional theatre, as Thomas’s Shaper/Caper colleague Levi Richards explains.
“The community cast are joining and supporting the company cast as a kind of chorus, filling the space and expanding the crowd to make the show more immersive, and to add high energy to crowd scenes,” he says.
“Because many are trainee or volunteer dancers, they’re also part of Shaper/Caper’s mission to show that dance is for everyone, especially in the parts of Small Town Boys where audience members have a chance to dance alongside the cast.”
While there’s a clear Scottish context to the play and its milieu, its narrative location is deliberately never made explicit.
“The specific tie to Scottish LGBTQ+ communities is more a result of the team behind it,” Levi adds.
“Thomas grew up in Dundee, and a lot of the show is inspired by his own experience – this is why we were passionate about having the show premiere in Dundee.
“Our community cast are all also Dundee-based, so bring that level of authenticity to it. As the show addresses Section 28, it’s also UK-focused.”
Small Town Boys can boast a banging soundtrack that includes original club remixes by Mark Franks from platinum-selling vocal harmony popsters The Overtones.
There’s also a host of 80s and early 90s hits to savour from the likes of Divine, The Communards, OT Quartet and Frankie Goes To Hollywood and, of course, the Bronski Beat classic from which the show takes its name.
Each performance will be followed by a Q&A led by sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust, with admission to the show on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis.
Small Town Boys will be performed at King’s Nightclub, Cowgate, from August 8-12. For tickets and more information, visit Dundee Rep’s website.
