Review: Red Hot Pokers at The Hen and Chickens Theatre 7-9 August / Upstairs at the Gatehouse 25 – 28 August /Camden Fringe

Nilgin Yusuf • Aug 08, 2022

 

‘Joyous, funny and moving’★★★

 

The garden as a metaphor for paradise and for potential is one we are culturally familiar with (from The Garden of Eden to The Secret Garden) but its metaphorical value is given fresh resonance in Red Hot Pokers, a monologue written and directed by Annie Herridge. This one man show features Jason, or Jay Jay, (with a captivating performance by Sam Tully) who while tending the precious rainbow blooms, (set design, Clare Ambridge) reflects on his sexual awakening and erotic adventures.

 

 “I never came out; I was never in” he states deadpan. But this self-knowledge creates conflict with society, bullies and a disapproving mother who wants to put her son through aversion therapy or a “genital lobotomy.” Before he can be pinned down by electric probes, this inciting incident sees him escape to Soho, a new life and identity. Through his warm, funny and moving reflections, we are transported to gay bars, discos, heaths, hospitals and graveyards. We travel four decades from when male homosexuality was illegal, to the hedonism of pre-AIDS and its sombre aftermath through to the randomness of internet hook-ups.

 

The ring of authenticity throughout Red Hot Pokers can be attributed to verbatim theatre, although this is not a strictly a verbatim performance – there is dramatization and artistic license aplenty especially in the symbolism of the phallic and permanently erect Red Hot Poker flowers. But the heartfelt, sparky dialogue in this well-paced, 45 minutes has been skilfully extracted from around 35 hours of interviews with the real ‘Jason’ who sadly passed away from cancer in 2017.

 

With TV’s recent spotlight on LGBT history (Russell T. Davis’s TV drama, It’s a Sin; AIDS: The Unheard Tapes and C4’s Freedom: 50 Years of Pride) audiences can feel some satisfaction that the journey has been overridingly progressive, if sometimes painful. But we should also remember in many parts of the world including Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, homosexuality remains punishable by imprisonment or death.

 

Red Hot Pokers is a heart-warming production that will make you laugh out loud and think of all the Jays Jays in our world who arguably did the heavy digging for a more tolerant society to thrive. The garden our protagonist creates and dreams of, is one where everyone can blossom in their own way. Jay Jay's insistence on being seen and heard, his refusal to be ignored, abused or denied and, his determination to live life on his own terms, is his ultimate triumph.

 

Partnering with the Terence Higgins Trust to raise funds and awareness.

 

http://camden.ssboxoffice.com/events/red-hot-pokers/

 

Reviewer

Nilgin Yusuf recently graduated from a four-year Creative Writing degree at Birkbeck, where she discovered a dormant appreciation for theatre, scriptwriting and stagecraft. An experienced author, lecturer and journalist (ex-Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and ELLE) Nilgin is developing her first full-length stage play, supported by Mrs.C’s Collective and the Arts Council.

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