DramaLondonReview

The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs – Soho Theatre, London

Reviewer: Maryam Philpott

Writer: Iman Qureshi

Director: Hannah Hauer-King

Safe spaces are at the heart of Iman Quershi’s latest play which premieres at the Soho Theatre, places where anyone who identifies as a woman or non-binary can be themselves surrounded by like-minded and supportive friends. The Ministry for Lesbian Affairs is the name that Quershi’s community choir give themselves, coming together once a week in a room off Dean Street – the very road where the Soho Theatre is located – for tea, gossip and a good sing-along.

When Broadband engineer Lori is dragged to a local choir by girlfriend Ana, she accidentally invites flirtatious customer Dina along as well who is desperate to explore her sexuality and escape her controlling husband. As they bond with regulars Brig, Fi, Ellie and choir leader Connie, a solid friendship develops, but as the only lesbian choir in the country auditions to sing at Pride, a fall is sure to follow.

Quershi’s 2.5-hour play is a comedy-drama with music, versions of classical composition and pop songs performed by the choir during their rehearsals that reflect the eclectic personalities within the group, ranging from Carmina Burana to Petula Clark’s Downtown. The first two Acts focus on building the scenario and characters, establishing the problems and worries that each individual uses the choir as an escape from, eventually building to a quest to represent their community as the opening act of London Pride.

So far so British movie and like Pride, Billy Elliot, Made in Dagenham and even Calendar Girls, the audience begins to settle into a familiar pattern of ordinary people overcoming adversity to achieve the impossible. However, following a brief interval, Quershi’s play defies these expectations, making fast work of the Pride event in a scene narrated directly to the audience, and instead focuses on the political, social and emotional fallout as unexpected attitudes and prejudices within the group create a sudden disintegration.

The switch from Sister Act meets Pitch Perfect to a more serious discussion of transphobia, marginalisation and domestic abuse isn’t entirely consistent and the play does lose momentum as the relative pace of scenes and the dialogue slow down for long speeches that make this second half a little static. Quershi’s writing is impassioned and her arguments convincing but dramatically it lacks a narrative drive to shape the remainder of the action.

But characterisation is particularly good, and Quershi creates a distinct, rounded and largely amiable group whose need to spend an hour a week in a run-down community centre becomes clearer as the audience invests more in their stories. Kibong Tanji is our way into the plot as Lori overcomes an initial reticence to find a real peace with herself as part of the choir. The struggles that Lori has in trying to balance her multiple identities are well conveyed while the deterioration of her relationship with the academic Ana (Claudia Jolly), the least sympathetic character, is very credible.

Dina is initially played as quite a broad comic creation by Lara Sawalha but her innocence and enthusiasm for the choir, in contrast to her marital life, are both sweet and warming as Dina finds much-needed relief. We are given some hints of Fi’s complex life beyond the community centre in Kiruna Stammell’s performance but a diatribe in Act Three deserves more context to understand the timing of it, while equal time needs to be devoted to Brig (Mariah Louca) who is central to the plot and much discussed but who has little agency and is given little to say directly.

Anna Reid’s stage design is evocative of rundown church halls, underfunded, drab and filled with 40-year-old furniture which Reid still makes cosy and welcoming. It is notable that when these characters emerge into the wider world, they endure homophobic attacks and unwanted attention, so The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs is a rallying cry for the importance of physical spaces where groups of unlikely friends can just be themselves.

Runs until 11 June 2022

The Reviews Hub Score

Impassioned

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The Reviews Hub London is under the editorship of Richard Maguire. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.

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