My Son's a Queer, (But What Can You Do?)
Liverpool Playhouse
Internet sensation Rob Madge is arguably best known for their childhood home videos showing their recreations of Disney rides and parades. Often including their family members as supporting cast or slightly unsuspecting ride participants, millions have viewed Madge’s videos across multiple social media platforms.
Utilising these home videos, Madge has created a one-person biographical show that is touring the UK for the first time following successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and on the West End.
The award-winning show sees Madge take to the stage to recount their life and experiences of growing up Queer. A large screen on the stage shows the home videos, while original songs written by Rob Madge and Pippa Cleary showcase Madge’s incredible vocals. The show is simply fantastic.
From the moment we walked into the auditorium, we were met with classic Disney songs like ‘It’s a Small World’, ‘Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow’, and ‘The Mickey Mouse March’ theme song from The Mickey Mouse Club. Not only did this set the scene for the 70-minute show, but it also created little pockets of sing-alongs and was a great way to start conversations with fellow audience members about Disney experiences and memories. A shared bonding before the show had even begun.
The show itself is essentially Rob’s life story. Their love of Disney is clearly documented, but some may be unfamiliar with Madge’s theatre credits. They are an accomplished actor who has starred in shows such as Mary Poppins, Oliver and Les Mis. Madge takes the audience through how they became an actor, and how they went from the child teachers suggested should change in order to fit in and make friends, to the wonderful adult and successful actor they are now.
The beauty of this show lies in the fact that Rob Madge is a fantastic storyteller. Their humour, balanced against vulnerability and heartwarming tales of familial acceptance, is all conveyed naturally. The mix of humour, reflection and nostalgia always felt smooth and relaxed. Each story had its moment, and the audience had the appropriate time to digest the message. From laugh-out-loud moments to tears of both sadness and joy, Rob’s story and journey has it all.
One of our favourite moments was when Rob discussed their Grandparents and the costumes and puppet theatre they created for Rob. Jo’s Grandparents were very similar; they created fancy dress costumes, dolls clothing and even built a wooden house in the garden as a playroom. As you can imagine, Jo was an emotional wreck hearing Rob talk about their Grandparents, but the reminiscing on the way home about just how magical Grandparents are means this will remain one of our favourite parts of the show.
The set for the show is purposefully minimal. Designed to look like a living room with an armchair on stage left, a set of drawers on stage right, and a sideboard upstage, the set felt cosy and provided various areas for Madge to share their story.
The variety of lamps and overall muted lighting by Jai Morjaria perfectly complemented the set design. A more yellow light within the lamps gave the impression of incandescent lightbulbs, which was a particularly nice touch.
Above the sideboard is the large projection screen, perfectly framed by lights. The home videos are the set’s focus, but the screen felt the appropriate size for the space; everyone could see the screen, but it never felt like it was dominating the space.
Ultimately, this production is a tribute to the unconditional love of family and serves as a reminder that everybody is unique and that embracing individuality has the power to transform lives. The world would definitely be a poorer place had Rob’s parents listened to their teacher and snuffed out the spark that makes Rob such an engaging, powerful and talented person. This show is fantastic and is not to be missed.
My Son’s a Queer, (But What Can You Do?) is on tour across the UK. Full details of the tour can be found here. The show will return to the Northwest at HOME MCR for Manchester Pride 19 to 25 August.
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