ON RAILTON ROAD
Museum of the Home
3 – 18 November 2023
“On Railton Road will be performed at Museum of the Home by the Brixton Pansies, a theatre troupe of queer actors formed by artist Ian Giles to tell the story of Brixton’s gay squatting community. This initiative mirrors the lively street theatre groups who were active in the 1970s; gay people used theatre to share their experiences and grievances with a wider public.
To celebrate this new production, the cast have been photographed by Roxy Lee in the communal garden at Railton road. Created in the 70s, the squatters demolished the dividing garden walls to make one big shared space.”
Review by Richard Lambert, 2 Stars
The show is housed in the rather lovely Museum of the Home opposite Hoxton station. It’s worth arriving early to take a look around the museum, however you might not want to stay after the show as it’s a 2 and a half hour long performance (including an interval).
The musical accompaniment is an accordion and the room lights stay on for the show. This sets the very untheatrical style of the show. With a large cast by Fringe theatre standards (now that everyone must be paid national minimum wage) it’s clear that the budget was blown and none of it was spent on any theatrical tech. Even a very simple few lights would have helped a lot.
The cast are enthusiastic but the script is rather pedestrian which creates a situation where the ad libs are more interesting and engage the audience far more than the actual text. A few laughs were gained. Sadly, that’s the only emotional projection achieved – serious subject matter that fails to engage. It’s a little like a school history lesson where you hear the horrors and atrocities that have occurred but the true horror doesn’t actually land.
There is a scene with some of the cast in swimming costumes discussing that they usually swim naked, while at the same time there’s a bedroom scene with two young men in underwear having sex in the bed. A lot of flesh on display and the most full-on kissing I’ve seen on stage.
Here’s hoping the cast is sufficiently large that their friends will come to support this production.
Further information
On Railton Road
Date Tuesday 31st October – Saturday 18th November 2023
Time 7:30pm, doors open at 7pm.
Cast
Casper Hannah van der Westhuysen (they/them)
Philip Thomas Royal (he/him)
Ned Manish Gandhi (he/him)
Darie Jamal Franklin (he/him)
Atom Jaye Hudson (she/her)
Clifford Dan de la Motte (he/him)
Marie Aoife Smyth (she/her)
Jack Nicholas Marrast-Lewis (he/him)
Creative Team
Creator and Director Ian Giles (he/him)
Playwright Louis Rembges (he/him)
Producer Aurelien Enjalbert (he/him)
Musical Arranger Sophie Crawford (she/her)
Puppet Designer Oliver James Hymans (he/him)
Costume Designer Valeriya Voronkina (she/her)
Prop Design Harry Stayt (he/him)
Photography Roxy Lee (she/her)
Location
Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA
How to get there Museum of the Home is opposite Hoxton Station, which has step free access, and is a short walk from Liverpool Street and Old Street stations. Buses 149, 242, 243, 394 stop on Kingsland Road.
Social Media
@museumofthehome #onrailtonroad
@iangiles @hannahvdw @mr.thomasroyal @manishgaan @jamalafranklin @tranne_boleyn @dandelamotte @aoifesaidlikeeefa @iamnicoli
Website
https://www.museumofthehome.org.uk
Supported by Arts Council England and Museum of the Home
Developed with the support of Jerwood.
Museum of the Home Museum of the Home’s purpose is to reveal and rethink the ways we live, in order to live better together. Through our collections, exhibitions, events, performances and debates, we reveal diverse, thought-provoking and personal stories of the home from the last 400 years to the present and looking into the homes of the future. Explore stories of home and share your own.