Review: DUMBLEDORE IS SO GAY at Southwark Playhouse

Stuart King 19 August, 2023, 16:09

The Fringe in London is the unsung hero and lifeblood of an industry that requires spaces in which our stars of the future get to cut their teeth and learn the ropes, art, and stagecraft of presenting live theatre. Southwark Playhouse has long served such a valuable function for both playwrights and the actors and musicians who bring their work to life.

Charlotte Dowding, Alex Britt, Martin Sarreal in Dumbledore Is So Gay at Southwark Playhouse - Credit to David Jenson

Whilst the title may give you virtually everything you need to know, DUMBLEDORE IS SO GAY still manages to conceal a few comic surprises up its long wizardy sleeves. A young, uncertain-of-his-sexuality-but-pretty-darned-certain-in-all-honesty fella named Jack (a vibrant, buzzing and unrelenting Alex Britt) falls for Ollie (Martin Sarreal) whilst they are still juvenile and they explore their feelings about life, love, sex, friendship and what it means to be a Harry Potter fan. Surrounded by the standard playground bigotry, cliquey gangs and hostility towards anything gay, the two guardedly break the ice on their latent feelings. Zoom forward through various characterisations (Charlotte Dowding makes up the three hander trouncing all comers as French teacher Madame Dubois) and Jack and Ollie’s romance sours.

Cue reference to Dumbledore’s Time-Turner which was used by Hermione to travel back and forth in time to attend extra lessons during one of JK’s series — I lose track which. Leaving aside the fact that the aforementioned amulet could only allow the user to travel back in time for a max of 5 hours at a time, here Jack is rubbing furiously like it’s a magic lamp and in true Groundhog Day and Sliding Doors fashion, time shifts and he is reliving his life over again with finessed tweaks, but still the outcome is unsatisfactory. OK, so the premise is hardly mega-original and come the third iteration there may be a certain unease and restlessness that perhaps there is insufficient juice in this thin plot device to remain entertaining, but miraculously, it does. The cast tweak (and twerk) their way through the characters, reminding us what it was like to be young, foolish, irritating, playful, silly, dumb, naive and, and… and ALIVE for goodness sake.

It ain’t Shakespeare — although Iambic pentameter gets a bluntly delivered nod (perhaps more to remind us that the writer and director have trained and want you to know it) and Alex Britt has enough inherent charm and energy to melt the hearts of the iciest of frozen curmudgeons.

So there we have it. With virtually no set, a few lighting states, some clever sound cues and bundles of energy, this three-player, multi-character yarn (which on paper really shouldn’t work), proves engaging, fun and just a little bit magical. Congrats to all concerned.