Tom, a 19-year-old Mancunian gentleman’s outfitter, comes to the stage in his crisp suit that is perfectly tailored but gives the slightest impression that it’s a little too big for him. He has a broad, somewhat cheeky smile. There’s something inane in the gossip he shares about the promotion happening in his store, and yet within a few minutes, Wilson has you utterly captivated by Tom. This is the first opportunity Hornby takes to give the audience a sense of the world that his story inhabits, this youthful energy that’s spiked with a polite foreboding. Though Tom is a fictional character, his experiences are all too real, and we know what his outcome would likely be. And yet in these moments we get to share with him, he paints a life that is rich and filled with a strange optimism. As he talks about his job and his family, faint cracks begin to appear as he finds himself under increasing pressure. First, there’s Anthony, Max Lohan’s, a work colleague he idolises who gets arrest for cottaging, then there’s the succession of young, available ladies his parents have lined up for him. Emotionally, Tom is being pulled from pillar to post with no external relief or support. He knows who he is, or what he is, and it’s the social impact of his realisation that weighs heaviest on his mind. 

Of all the stories Tom shares, it’s the one about going to a boxing match with his ‘Pa’, Andrew Pollard, that was to me at least, one of the most touching. Tom is young but is considered a man. This trip to the boxing match is a bonding moment between father and son, but without the emotional attachment – that’s the English way, right? Pa’s generation simply didn’t talk about certain things; for them, marriage was a contract that allowed men to have sex and women to leave one master for another; if love happened, then all the better. His father isn’t cold; it’s just not in him to be able to have the type of conversation Tom needs to have when he’s ready to have it. In this same space, two generations coexist with a chasm between them. Tom’s generation is ready to take control, evolve, and break free of the constraints that his pa’s generation has been tethered by.

Through the backroom shenanigans of two BBC executives who are trying to make a radio documentary about homosexuals, Hornby inter-splices Tom’s story, highlighting how salient this documentary was really going to be. There were three tenets of British society: the monarchy, the political, and medical. For 1950s Britain, these three groups dominated British social life, and yet, empowered by the role radio played in the war years, the BBC established a new tenant: media. Public debate on issues that impact society is usually, in our modern media landscape, dominated by big personalities. Few people will remember Mary Whitehouse or the impact she had on the discourse, but it was great, and the wireless became her greatest tool for reaching the masses, far greater than newspapers or newsreels. As the public began to loosen the shackles placed on them by the political and medical class, the media, first print, then radio, and lately TV, wonderfully illustrated towards the end by Lohan and Pollard, would fill the void.

The task set by the BBC executives was great, and Hornby instantly highlights the weight of what they’re planning. The age difference between the BBC executives is quite telling, as they represent the changing landscape of a postwar Britain, as younger and likely inexperienced voices gained opportunities to shape the public opinion in ways never thought of before. Pollard’s seasoned BBC executive, is eager and willing to champion the programme, but he has a lot of skin in the game and knows how the BBC works; this is contrasted by Lohan’s younger and at times impatient BBC executive. This wouldn’t just be a radio broadcast; this would be legitimacy for homosexuals, a word both executives mumbled under their breath initially. It’s important to note that being a homosexual or being accused of homosexuality, at this time, was considered having a mental illness. This is vital because throughout modern history male same-sex relationships have always been vilified and criminalised by the establishment; the same isn’t true for female same-sex relationships, which have never been a criminal offence in the United Kingdom. Self-identifying as a homosexual was to admit to society's prescription of you being abnormal. This was set in law, culture, society, and the medical profession.

For these two BBC executives, the Wolfenden Report (1957) was the catalyst for finally broadcasting their now heavily edited radio documentary. As important as this was, and I may be a little cynical, one could make the argument that the only reason why this report was commissioned was because of the notable men being charged with homosexual offences. The unavoidable public attention of these arrests meant the state was now more willing to make recommendations because they themselves became affected by the issues. Homosexuality has existed within the establishment for hundreds of years (see the Cleveland Street Scandal), but with the increased media attention and changing cultural and social norms, these lives couldn’t remain hidden any longer. Rather than focus on the big names in this scandal, Hornby provides us with Anthony. Though we only meet Anthony once, his presence lingers for the remainder of the play. You’re left wondering about his life after the arrest, how someone who wasn’t noble or a celebrity would traverse their public shame.

"... but with the continued attacks on the trans community, lack of legislation on conversion therapy, and a growing trend of homophobic attacks, we should be more active."