Tom Bucher as Ste, Dave Clements as Jamie.
4th - 8th September 2007
South London Theatre
Summer 1993, Thamesmead London. It's hot - and it's going to get a whole lot hotter!Jonathan Harvey's seminal play, Beautiful Thing comes to South London Theatre in September 2007.
Now also on Facebook!Directed by Elaine Heath and produced by Stuart Draper it will be South London Theatre's 40th Birthday Production.Cast
Jamie David Clements
Ste Tom Bucher
Sandra Fiona Cullen
Tony Chris Learmonth
Leah Rita GoodheadJonathan Harvey's critically acclaimed play, Beautiful Thing comes to the SLT stage, in a lavish production to mark the theatre's 40th birthday celebrations.With the Bell Stage transformed into a Thamesmead housing estate (complete with a bedroom that miraculously appears as if by magic!) get ready for the feel-good, make you wanna clap your hands and dance up and down phenomenen that is Beautiful Thing - An Urban Fairytale.Jonathan Harvey's best-known play was first staged at the fringe Bush Theatre in 1993, then went on to become a big West End hit and was filmed in 1996.The title refers not to gay love as such but to the first love experienced by two 16-year-olds, Jamie (David Clements) and Ste (Tom Bucher), one summer on a council estate in south-east London. Jamie bunks off from sport at school, while Ste is renowned for his all-round sporting prowess, but when Ste stays over one night after a violent argument with his father and brother, their mutual attraction develops into sexual awakening and romance blossoms.Jamie's mother Sandra is too preoccupied with her shift work as a barmaid and with her dope-smoking artist boyfriend Tony (Chris Learmonth) to notice what's going on, but the Mama Cass-obsessed girl next door, Leah, soon realizes why Ste hasn't responded to her advances.Much has changed since the play was written - including the repeal of the discriminatory Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act forbidding the "promotion of homosexuality", the lowering of the homosexual age of consent to 16 and, most recently, the introduction of 'civil partnerships' for gay people - but Beautiful Thing has dated well because it is more romantic than polemical. This tender comedy of adolescent love retains its charm.
Jonathan Harvey’s tale of love blossoming between two teenage boys in a Thamesmead council block still retains all the humour and emotional clarity that it did when the original opened over a decade ago. Great writing stands the test of time - the voices are still true.
About this siteThis site will provide a blog of the show up until the final performance. Come back for regular updates to find out how the show is progressing.