My Son's A Queer, (But What Can You Do)
It’s safe to say that this show has been at the top of my list for many years. Since premiering at The Turbine Theatre in 2021, then heading to the Edinburgh Fringe for a sold-out season in 2022, before two West End runs, Rob Madge’s self-penned ‘My Son’s a Queer, (But What Can You Do)’ was a welcome sight in the listings for my local theatre, the Birmingham Hippodrome. How could I refuse! Now, did the show live up to my high expectations, or make me wonder what all the fuss was about…….safe to say it blew my expectations out of the water and made me want to return the very next day!
Having known of Rob for many years, not only from their incredibly funny social media videos that saved us all from insanity during lockdown, but also from their many theatrical exploits, including playing Gavroche in the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert, a fact that they don’t harp on about 😊, this show intrigued me and I knew I had to see it, not only because Rob is a ‘local’ around these parts, having hailed from Coventry (not a million miles from my Brummie base), but also because I love to see nice people being rewarded for just being themselves.
This story, directed by Luke Sheppard, takes us right back to Rob’s birth and their wonderful family life through a series of home videos. As soon as these videos appeared, many happy memories of my own started flooding back of putting on shows for parents and family members, and being able to explore what felt right, i.e. performing and being the centre of attention, something that Rob details so well throughout. Every time their Dad held the camera, the immortal lines ‘are you filming me’ echoed out and thus igniting a performing streak that would go on to see Rob become the epitome of a creative genius. The videos were grainy in their appearance making the whole thing more special and remembering life without HD.
It was Rob’s childhood wish to put on the best Disney parade they could, playing the parts of Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins and their ultimate dream, Belle from Beauty and the Beast wearing the iconic yellow dress. We had a very intimate look into family life in the Madge household where Rob’s parents were nothing short of legendary, by purely being there and spending time with the child they had longed for. A lot can be said about spending quality time with your children and not just plonking them in front of the TV!. The memories and beautiful moments captured here were just priceless, none more so because of the fantastic regional accents echoing out from the videos, especially Rob’s adorable Grandmother who took pride in eventually creating the dress of dreams and their Grandfather who crafted a Punch and Judy style puppet theatre for Rob, a moment where I found myself wiping away tears of joy.
Of course, for a child who is deemed ‘different’ by their peers, Rob’s early school life wasn’t the best and through many heartfelt moments reliving this time, it was clear what effect this had on them. Scattered throughout the show are some beautiful songs co-written with Pippa Cleary (The Great British Bake Off, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole) which captured every emotion and moment that Rob endured by people telling them to change, a sad realisation of life that still happens around us today. However, never one to shy away from the spotlight, Rob was able to use these feelings to their advantage and create what I think is one of the most beautiful pieces of theatre I’ve seen in a long time.
The costuming by Ryan Dawson Laight immersed us into the wonderful world of Rob’s dream wardrobe, especially during the finale when we finally see the dresses of Ariel and of course Belle from Beauty and the Beast, amongst others. These costumes were designed to look hand-made, using various everyday items in order to create something very special, and as a parent its amazing what items you can find around the house the satisfy your child’s dreams! A fantastic job by Dawson Laight for recreating these without losing the essence of how these dresses would have been crafted originally.
This show is a very personal look into the world of a child who knew from a very early age that they were destined to be on stage doing what they do best. It was a pure privilege to be in the audience to see Rob shine like the absolute star they are. Never change Rob, you’re far too special!
This show was reviewed on the 11th July 2024 at the Birmingham Hippodrome. You can see the rest of the tour details over on Rob’s social media @Rob_Madge_02.
Review written by Emma Rowley
AD/Gifted
Photo credit: Mark Senior
Check out other reviews from Curtain Call Reviews and get in touch to have our reviewers head to your show.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.