Theatre review: Queers Part 1

It hasn't been marked quite as ubiquitously on stage as the centenary of the First World War, the 4th centenary of Shakespeare's death or even the King James Bible were, but theatres are now starting to step up the events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. The Old Vic has paired up with the BBC, whose Queer Britain season includes the upcoming Queers on BBC4, eight monologues curated by Mark Gatiss giving snapshots of gay life before and after decriminalisation, to give each one of the short plays a one-off live performance. About half of the performers from the TV version have been able to reprise their roles, with the rest recast, and Gatiss shares directing duties with Joe Murphy on Part 1 as well as writing the first of the four stories in this first collection.

Theatre review: The Act

Matthew Baldwin is a stalwart of the Above the Stag gay panto, usually alternating between waspish dames and kinky villains, so it's surprising how gentle his one-man show, co-created with director Thomas Hescott, is. The Act is a short trip to the 1960s, following both the Parliamentary debate that would end in the decriminalisation of homosexuality, and the life of a Westminster civil servant for whom the matter is close to home. Matthews had a couple of encounters at school but since then has buried his feelings for other men, busying himself with work and friends. But with the act yet to pass, he grows bolder and starts going to an underground gay bar. Soon he's fallen for a younger man whose feelings aren't returned quite as exclusively, and he finds himself on the wrong side of the law - his job making him a juicy target to be made an example of.