Manchester Theatre News & Reviews

REVIEW - My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do) takes you on an emotional rollercoaster and is simply phenomenal

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On Tuesday, we were invited to HOME, Manchester to watch My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do?). Our reviewer Abi Holden had one of best experience at the theatre and instantly fell in love with this incredible show...

It is Pride Week in Manchester and Rob Madge (Mary Poppins, Les Miserables) has brought their one-person, one-act show to HOME. Having followed Rob Madge on Tiktok for a while now, I knew about this show. I didn’t, however, know what it fully entailed. This was a show I was VERY excited to see, as a member of the LGTBQIA+ community, and I was, without a doubt, taken on such a wonderful and beautiful journey that I don’t think I will ever forget it.

The show itself is based on Rob Madge’s life and their journey to self-discovery and love of acting, through the performances they put on, as a child for their family members. The main show being their disney parade, that they staged in their house, with the help of some technical support from their dad. With a mix of live song and storytelling and old family videos of their escapades as a young Disney fanatic, this show tells the audience of Rob’s seven steps to create the perfect Disney parade. (With a rehearsal schedule that involves a Sitzprobe and clean-up and notes on Christmas Day.) Throughout the show, Madge explains their stages, all whilst relating them back to moments of their childhood. The hilarity that ensued from a young Rob, who flew around their living room as Peter Pan and ruled over the Kingdom behind the Settee Curtain as Maleficent, and even made their Nan spin on the teacups (an office chair), was brilliant. And the added nature of their live humour was bliss. Their natural and effortless punchlines and perfect timing really brought a smile to face. In fact, I was smiling so much, my cheeks began to ache. The story of the yellow dress that their Grandma so lovingly made for them, after their Dad had bought them a Beast costume, when all they wanted was to be Belle, was beyond stunning. It warmed parts of my heart that I didn’t know needed it.

They regaled the tale of their first crush - the Pied Piper of Hamelin - and how they realised their Queerness. This tale hit home for a lot of the audience, myself especially, with them so beautifully explaining their coming out, in song (a homage to Elton John). Innuendos of flutes are involved, which had me in stitches, and the way they explain their first crush is so perfect that you can see it all play out in your mind’s eye, as they sing.

As beautiful and funny as it was, this show also showed a deeper side to Rob’s childhood, showing how they were bullied by their peers and belittled by their teachers into submitting to be something they were not. The stunning song, ‘Pieces of My Heart’, explains their struggle with being downtrodden and having to hide their true self from their peers. The lyrics ‘Why be so cruel when you could sing?’ are going to stick with me for a long time, as someone who uses music (especially singing) to escape. They also struck a chord with so many people in the audience. Luckily, Madge had the unwavering support of their family, with their grandparents creating a puppet theatre for them to keep their creativity flowing, and their parents encouraging them to act through Stage Coach. This led to them playing Michael Banks in Mary Poppins and Gavroche in Les Miserables (a line from this show inspiring the title), at a young age. And it led them to go on to create this phenomenal show.

The stage was set up as a living room - mirroring the one that Madge created their shows in as a child - and the cosy theatre of Home made it feel like just that; a home where everyone was welcome. Knowing from first-hand experience that not everyone is lucky enough to have the support of all of their loved ones around them, when they come out, it made me cry. The song, ‘We Will Be Loved Anyway’, was probably my favourite part of the show, with instructions on how to love your child, no matter who they are. I am lucky to have the support of my Mum, who came with me to see the show, and who I thanked, still crying, as we left the theatre, for accepting me and loving me as I am.

This show is for everyone. It encapsulates the life of a queer person, and their struggles, and how they overcame all of the obstacles to become the amazing person they are today. I encourage anyone who has struggled, as I have, to go and watch this show. I must admit, I have cried whilst writing this, due to the emotional rollercoaster this show takes you on, and I will probably cry about it again in the next coming days. This show has reinforced, to me, the way that theatre can make such a huge impact on someone. But, as Madge sings, ‘Anything is possible when your family all sing your tune’. And, whether that be your blood relatives or your chosen family, the overwhelming message of this show, that you are not alone, shines through.

In the end, this show is about celebrating Queerness and I couldn’t have felt more honoured to have witnessed it. The tears I cried whilst sitting in the audience were ones of overwhelming joy. I felt like I was being seen so clearly, for the first time, in a show. Being someone who struggled with their sexuality for a long time, I am so grateful to Madge for creating this show and making me feel so visible.

WE SCORE MY SON'S A QUEER (BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO?)...