Theatre review: The Boys in the Band

A genuine classic of gay theatre - groundbreaking in its subject matter at the time, and with a clear influence on later writers' work - Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band gets revived by Adam Penford for the Park Theatre. A look at gay life in 1968 New York, its characters have found a subculture they feel reasonably safe in, but their sexuality is still something they need to keep behind closed doors. Michael (Ian Hallard) is hosting a birthday party for Harold (Mark Gatiss) who, as always, is expected to show up late. An early arrival is Donald (Daniel Boys,) Michael's on-off lover and a neurotic who's had to move out of the city as can't handle it full-time. The rest of the invited guests all soon turn up, as does an unexpected one - Michael's college roommate Alan (John Hopkins,) who hasn't been told about his friend's sexuality.

Theatre review: Don't Smoke in Bed

At the office where I used to work several years ago, a (white) woman on maternity leave came back in one day so everyone could see the new baby she'd had with her (black) partner. An older colleague was absolutely smitten with the baby, and her compliments included "Isn't she beautiful? And she hardly looks black at all!" It's a gobsmacking comment that came to mind during a look at how things are for interracial couples - and their mixed-race children - in America, as Aurin Squire advises Don't Smoke in Bed. In fact smoking, in bed or elsewhere, is something Jamaican-American Richard (Greg Lockett) and Irish-American Sheryl (Clare Latham) have just agreed to give up together when they start a series of interviews with an (unseen by the audience) reporter on a webcam: The New York Times Sunday magazine is doing a feature on various couples in their bedrooms.