REVIEW | Dumbledore Is So Gay, Southwark Playhouse
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Reviewer - Bronagh
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
‘I’m a Hufflepuff’. The dreaded words. After all, who wants to be a Hufflepuff?! As dreaded as those words are, they are nowhere near as dreaded as hearing that your best friend has tried to kill himself. Dumbledore is So Gay explores homophobia, identity and true love in a way so passionate it is almost tear-jerking.
Dumbledore is So Gay presents us with three friends – Jack, Gemma and Ollie. Best friends since they were small, they pass their time playing games and watching Harry Potter. But things start to get sticky when Jack reveals that he is in love with Ollie, no mean feat following his friends’, father’s and schoolmates’ blatant homophobia. You can see the hurt in Jack’s eyes throughout when someone makes a joke about him being a ‘poof’ or a ‘faggot’, the disdain when there are quips regarding Graham Norton’s sexuality, really brings home that homophobia is very much prevalent to this very day. The very important theme of consent is touched upon also, bringing a very important topic to the audience’s attention.
The cast are brilliant. No two ways about it. Alex Britt is wonderful as Jack, a gorgeous soul who just wants to make things ‘right’. Charlotte Dowding plays a stunning part, bouncing between Gemma, Sally and Madame Dubois seamlessly as well as providing many laughs when dancing away in ‘Heaven’ and doing lengths at the swimming pool. Martin Sarreal shows how versatile he is by playing Ollie, Martin and various conquests of Jacks’. The cast make us laugh, they make us really think and evoke many emotions, and they truly make us happy.
The style of Dumbledore is So Gay is interesting… and it works. Not too unlike a certain Hermione Ganger, Jack goes back in time using a ‘Time-Turner’. Hermione used hers to fit in all of her school lessons, Jack uses his to rewrite history and to try to ‘make things right’. When Jack started his time travelling for the second time, I was worried that it could get boring very quickly. But it didn’t; fresh ideas were introduced and slowly started to make the history slightly ‘better’. The third attempt, of course, is the most successful even if it does leave us thinking ‘what happens next?’. The beauty is, us as audience members can make our own mind up.
Stunning, relevant and fun… overall I absolutely loved Dumbledore is So Gay and recommend it wholeheartedly to anybody. The pre and post show playlists are sensational and set the tone brilliantly, playing our beloved Lady Gaga and Cher to name a few. The smaller space is cosy and intimate… however, I would love to see this on a bigger scale and showcased in the way it truly deserves to be.
At Southwark Playhouse until 23 September.
