Want an unusual way to beat the heat while simultaneously supporting hyper-local Pride? How about rolling around the footings of a 12th-century Saxon bridge over the River Thames? Bet you didn't expect that. And, to be honest, neither did I.Rating
Excellent!
FUSEBOX is a contemporary multi-arts venue on Kingston’s riverside, but descend a flight of stairs, and there they are: centuries-old bridge ruins stretching beneath your feet and brushing your shoulders. And who likes history? That’s right – the gays.
Having just reopened after more than a year of closure following severe flooding, the venue is coming out swinging – or should I say slaying? When you think of Kingston, do you picture queer joy? I certainly don’t. But Sophie Debono, Unapologetic, FUSE International, and Creative Youth have mustered forces to launch Kingston’s first-ever Pride weekend in gloriously unashamed, saucy style.
In the bowels of the building, alongside the dusty relics (my friend and I included), sits an installation of stretched bandage “artwork” and a spinning dancer we’ll encounter later. A bar nestles into the larger event space, a small stage waits expectantly, and around another stone buttress hangs a giant fabric vagina. “We’re going to get along just fine,” I think.
Metal chairs and tables are dotted around, though nowhere near enough for the crowd of young hopefuls, and we’re ousted a few times between the three acts that follow. The sound quality is occasionally shaky (handheld microphones being what they are), the lighting is fairly rudimentary, and there is arguably one act too many for an 8 pm start. Nobody can stay titillated for three hours straight – and if you can, there might be something wrong with you. However, none of that matters one iota, not a drop in the sea of theatre critics’ tears, and I’ll tell you why. What we see – stripping, belting, cavorting, smiling bashfully – is queer youth in full, exuberant bloom. It’s enough to make you sob or shrink away in green-tinged envy (Guess which one I was?)
Every facet of queer culture is represented, and, by that, I mostly mean sex and musicals. EL, the evening’s most confident vocalist, delivers a medley from Cabaret, complete with a convincing Sally Bowles accent. It’s no easy feat to shift tempo and character so quickly, but Mein Herr, she’s good! Sophie D (Debono) ambitiously tackles Flowers from Hadestown, while Ellie takes on I Miss the Mountains from Next to Normal – neither is an easy choice. Lily visually channels Jessica Simpson while singing Lady Gaga’s A Million Reasons, and Luke delivers a full-throated rendition of Scream. Lollipoppers, dressed first in delicate white lace shall and later in rainbow candy-striped tulle, offer both Lana Del Rey and RAYE. Their performance of Joy lands well, although without a backing choir, it feels slightly underserved. Sex is explored with gleeful abandon by Blaze En Rouge – one blonde, one redhead, both sporting wolf-cuts and very little else. Sirens in every sense, they move effortlessly between cabaret, comedy, and ballroom, injecting dark humour throughout. At one point, Rouge is decapitated, leaving Blaze dancing around with her severed head.
Blood features heavily too, as MJ Limbo, clad in a corset and towering platform boots, writhes across the floor to Nelly Furtado’s Maneater. A blood capsule bursts between their teeth, and crimson pours down their chest as they convulse, eyes flashing daggers. A complex deconstruction of beauty and female sexuality? Perhaps. At that point, I honestly didn’t care. It was dynamic. Lizzie reinvents the lap dance with intricate floorwork, admirably undeterred by the unforgiving medieval stone around her. There are surprises, too. Aroni‘s Bharatanatyam Fuse Party fuses classical Indian dance with contemporary street movement. Her hands slice through the air with precision as stamping feet and elegant turns steadily whip the audience into excitement.
The company – a glorious gambol of hair flicks, glitter and impossibly flimsy costumes – rushes on and off throughout the evening, serving sass, sex appeal and, above all else, the exhilarating power of unapologetic self-expression. Surrounded by the lost pillars of London, in the chilling cold, it would be easy to become maudlin, ruminate on sunken things, but instead, what is provided is life in all its newness and brightness, all its bubbling potential for greatness, its indescribable beauty. In Kingston? Who knew?!
Organiser: Sophie Debono
Presented by: Unapologetic UK & FUSEBOX
Event Partner: FUSE International
Charity Partner: Creative Youth
AFTERDARK has completed its run at FUSEBOX, but Kingston Pride and FUSE International events continue.
