This August has been a decent month for gay-themed theatre, and it's rounded off at Southwark Playhouse by
Eye of a Needle, a dark comedy about asylum-seekers. Chris MacDonald's story makes points that could apply to people fleeing a number of dangers, but it focuses particularly on those seeking safety from countries where gay people are persecuted. Laurence (Nic Jackman) works at UK Immigration Control, assessing cases for entry to the UK, but with a barely-concealed directive from above that as many as possible be refused. With the sometimes manipulative intervention of his boss Ted (Stephen Hudson,) we see him deal with frightened Jamaican Harrison (Ekow Quartey,) but the person who really gets his attention is Natale (Ony Uhiara.) A vocal gay rights campaigner from Uganda and targeted by the press, her no-nonsense arguments and fearless comebacks make him pay attention to the persecution he deals with daily, in a way he hasn't before - and she's not above taking advantage of his obvious attraction to her.
