Jordan Luke Gage's Redcliffe is a beautiful and devastating musical that brings to life the hidden love story of two gay men in 18th-century Bristol. Inspired by true events, this open-hearted production fills in the gaps of queer history, giving William Critchard and Richard Arnold the grand love story that history rarely recorded.
A Story of Forbidden Love
Gage plays William, a shy local boy whose chemistry crackles with arrogant sailor Richard (Daniel Krikler), docked in the Redcliffe area for a few days. While their meet-cute feels a bit too 21st-century, it's hard not to fall for their charm and dogged optimism as they carve out a tiny patch of freedom in a world that shuns them for their desires.
Balancing Comedy and Devastation
The musical walks a tricky line between bawdy comedy and clean devastation. The first half leans into the comedy of falling for someone, with William telling Richard, "We don't need a reprise" when he starts singing again, while dealing with the marital expectations of a near-hysterical mother. Scenes with William's mother (Rebecca Lock) and sister Abigail (Jess Douglas-Welsh) wring out laughs and tears, but a loving family isn't enough to tear down the law.
A Monumental Achievement
Making a new musical is a monumental task, and Redcliffe, directed by Paul Foster, has huge ambition in scope and aesthetic. There's still work to do, but the boys give their whole hearts to the story and earn ours along the way. The anguished love songs get a rockier twist as the story hurtles towards the part set down on paper, unearthed by Bristol Archives: two men, a witness, a valiant kiss on a hand.
Through Redcliffe, Gage gives these wronged men another chance to live. At Southwark Playhouse Borough, London, until 4 July.
