ScotsGay Magazine

*****

Yes, that's right, a massive theatrical production about the events that lead to the infamous New York riots of 28th June 1969. It's a big task. The event which catalysed the Gay Rights movement in the USA, that lends its name to the biggest of Gay Rights organisations, sacrilege would be so easy. So, does the Pleasance and Angelica company pull it off? Oh fabulously darling! Drag queens, "vanilla gays", chicks with dicks and guys with ties combine to fill the whole gay spectrum, in a rip-roaring romp that will dazzle you with several tons of glitter. There were some truly stunning performances on stage. Ms Bostonia, a six foot tall black transvestite played by the director and writer alternated between a full length red dressing gown and a silver corset and gave an incredible performance as a suave hostess and a true she-devil. Ms La-Miranda, our narrator, seemed to be so convincing in make-up as to have more than one of my ladyloving mates pondering their sexual boundaries. However, it was Matty-Deans that truly stole the show for me. A truly stunning performance as a country boy from out west, delighting in the big city, when this lad shed his shirt a huge sigh rippled through the audience. What can I say, I have a thing for cowboys. Finally, as a former techie myself I am always careful to congratulate those hidden wonders behind the scenes, and the lighting and sound were flawlessly executed. Underneath the glitz and the cross dressing though there is a real heart. Of romance across the great divide that separates the girly from the macho, of the extent to which beating the system means playing within its rules, of the right of every human being to love whoever the hell they want without being crushed by an iron fist. This is love for you fellow man, politically, publicly and personally. This is a play after which my straight mates stood with me to give a standing ovation. Because they could see that one group's liberation is everyone's liberation. Yes the songs are lip-synched, yes the dances aren't the Broadway masterpieces of Guys and Dolls or the Lion King, but when did Drag Queens have that? The tackiness is what makes Stonewall so classy, the fake is what makes it so authentic. And I left feeling elated and empowered and, yes, proud.

Sam Wheeler

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