We’re three decades on from 80s New York where they witnessed the arrival of the plague known as AIDS. We may be more educated now, but our fear of the disease has hardly lessened, and so it comes as little surprise that Elegies for Angels, Punks & Raging Queens by Bill Russell and Janet Hood is still as popular as ever.
Presented on this occasion by Insideout Productions in association with Upstage Theatre Productions, the 19-strong cast directed by Paul Harper-Swan are a slick ensemble – but then this is a show which calls for no less. Often cited as a song-cycle, it weaves monologues in free verse with some remarkably upbeat, catchy group numbers before plummeting us into something deeper, more emotional such as ‘And The Rain Keeps Falling Down’ – performed with aplomb by David Kristopher-Brown.
It’s difficult to pick out individuals as each has as good a voice and technical ability as the last – doubling up on roles throughout. Yet Neil Thomas as the flamboyant drag Queen proves quite the highlight – dealing with the odd over-excited heckle with wit and humour.
The brightness of Janet Hood’s songs are set against each monologue which stretch each of the cast in different ways; some where we’re let in to the tenderness of nursing a loved one in their last days, others where we see the stigma of the disease and how that affects those around them.
Harper-Swan’s direction has brought this show-stopper of old into a more intimate space, bringing the audience in with them yet the simple design left the space feeling too small for the larger numbers – this sizeable cast with big voices need far more room than they were granted.
Nonetheless, this is a well-executed and fresh-faced take on the 80s favourite.
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