It is easy to forget, in our relatively progressive country, that it is only within the last fifty years or so that homosexuality was legalised. But The Rolling Stone, a Royal Exchange premiere, and Bruntwood Prize-winning play, by Chris Urch, is a harrowing, but insightful reminder that prejudice against homosexuality is very much still a fatal problem in other parts of the world.
Young Ugandan Dembe (Fiston Barek) comes from a disjointed community. His father is recently deceased, and his friend Naome (Ony Uhiara) has been seemingly inexplicably mute for years. When Dembe meets and falls in love with Sam (Robert Gilbert), things get very complicated. Dembe’s brother Joe (Sule Rimi) is a pastor, giving regular dramatic sermons on the evils of a gay lifestyle; a lifestyle which basically carries a death sentence in Uganda. When tabloid rag The Rolling Stone starts “outing” people, Dembe begins to fear for his life, and question his emotions.
Thanks to activists such as Pepe Julian Onziema, the content of The Rolling Stone highlights issues that a lot of people should already be aware of. What the play does serve to do, and does extremely well, is to show a believable example of how prejudice, and indeed religion, can destroy lives and families. Dembe is a young, vibrant, intelligent man, but all that will count for nothing once people learn he is gay. Pillar of the community, Mama, played fantastically by Donna Berlin, says some scandalously homophobic things, unaware that her judgement is hitting Dembe right in his heart.
The juxtaposition of the beauty and horror in religion is an interesting one. The play is interspersed with breathtaking a cappella performances of gospel standards, such as ‘Down to the River to Pray’, resulting in some real spine-tingling moments. But then when Dembe’s brother Joe launches into one of his horrific homphobic rants, it’s very difficult to refrain from hurling your programme in the direction of the venom.
The cast are absolutely remarkable. Particular congratulations to Donna Berlin, Robert Gilbert, and Ony Uhiara, who are also currently performing in Anna Karenina. Berlin’s Mama is a typical religious hypocrite, overtly worshipful but internally hateful. Her interpretation of this vile woman’s practised poise was divine.
But it is Fiston Barek’s firecracker performance as Dembe that brings everything together. His chemistry with Robert Gilbert is fantastic; it is the scenes when they are alone that feel the most human. The scenes with Dembe’s family, especially in the latter acts of the play, are distressing and riveting in equal measure.
Chris Urch’s powerful and well-paced play is both vital and engaging. Bringing issues such as homphobia to the forefront of peoples’ consciousness is a very important thing to do, but there is a not a moment where The Rolling Stone feels didactic. Yes, Urch is telling a story, but it is one that is disturbingly close to reality. The play is also a valuable reminder of the important work foundations such as ILGA and Stonewall undertake daily.
The Rolling Stone is a brilliant piece of work, brought to life by a phenomenal cast. I urge you to see it while you can.
The Rolling Stone runs until 1st May 2015. For tickets and information, please click here.
Image credit – Jonathan Keenan