Riot Act, 3 Stars

Posted on June 23, 2019

By. lambco
Tag Play

Riot Act
Arcola Theatre
Sunday 16, 23 and 30 June, 2019

“Riot Act is a hard-hitting, hilarious and heart-warming exploration of the history of the LGBTQ rights movement.

Created from playwright and performer Alexis Gregory’s interviews with Michael-Anthony Nozzi, one of the only remaining Stonewall survivors; Lavinia Co-op, a 1970s London radical-drag artist; and Paul Burston, a prominent 1990s AIDS activist, this solo verbatim piece is a breathtaking journey through six decades of queer history.

Arriving at Arcola Theatre after a sold-out West End performance and a summer 2018 run in the Kings Head Queer Season, and ahead of a UK Tour, Riot Act honours the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots – with the 30 June performance marking the actual anniversary weekend. It’s going to be a riot!”

Review by Richard Lambert, 3 Stars

With fascinating and incredible material, Riot Act, takes you back to pivotal moments in LGBT history and describes real-life experiences of those in the heart of these moments. With self-effacing modesty it’s only in hindsight that each character understands the importance of their contribution.

Alexis Gregory both wrote and stars in this wonderful play. His research is flawless and the book is truly amazing!

Unfortunately though, tonight it looked as though the lighting designer and sound designer weren’t engaged. Alexis had an extremely powerful performance – slightly marred by having to constantly stroke his wireless mic as an indication to the Sound Operator that it didn’t appear to be working. It was on, just not mixed very well. And a single spotlight from the front can make any performance look like a powerpoint presentation. Just a few tweaks and this would be a 5 Star show!

Do go see it, don’t be put off that a technical and design review website, which this is, can only give a 3 Star rating. This show is truly wonderful and deserves sell-out audiences!

Photos by Dawson James