Back in 1979 I was lucky enough to see the acclaimed Ian McKellen / Tom Bell production of Bent. Having just come out I was blown away by this piece of serious gay drama and to be faced with my first experience of a sense of gay history.

It is, without doubt, a play of two distinct moods and the uneven playing of the first part failed to match the strength of the second. The competent and well-executed choreography of the dancers failed to establish a period feel and opening 'punch'. Theatre audiences are only too familiar with the style of Kander & Ebb / Bob Fosse to place them in pre-war Berlin, but the 'Cabaret' mood did not arrive.

It's strange to say there is a lot of humour in this play and I felt there was a reluctance to capitalise on this in case the writing was trivialised. In places there was a lack of pace which wasn't helped by overlong gaps between the scenes.

The pivotal point where Greta (ably played and sung by David Curtis) explains the situation lacked the menace and true significance of events.

Act II brings us the burgeoning relationship between Max and Horst. The two actors, Joe Gowdridge and Pete Strong, allow the writing to speak but utterly involves us, the audience. To maintain interest and sympathy while moving rocks across the stage for over an hour is no slight task and they achieved this admirably. Furthermore, their non-tactile sexual scenes were truly moving. The silence and intensity of the audience (surely many of them friends and family - the worst to play to in scenes like these) was testimony to their skill and commitment to their roles.

The play still begs the question - do we hide our sexual identity in order to achieve in society or do we owe it to the wider gay community to show solidarity and support by coming out? A look at those in public life deomonstrates the relevance of this play today. A relevance which SUDS so ably and bravely tackled in producing Bent.

Footnote to history:

It is hard to estimate how many gay people died in concentration camps as homosexuality was still deemed criminal at the end of the war. As a result, this barred gays from restitution. The clause (Paragraph 175) was not repealed until 1969.