plague over england

By Paul Knipe 

1950s London was a difficult place to be gay. A quick wink or a lingering look was enough to be charged for ‘importuning male persons for an immoral purpose’. Homosexuality had been denounced politically, and for the less liberally minded there was a gay plague over England.

So in 1953, when recently knighted John Gielgud entered a public lavatory off the Fulham Road and emerged in handcuffs with an undercover policeman, his reputation and career were on the brink of collapse.

Written by theatre critic Nicholas de Jongh, Plague Over England centres around this influential event in gay history. The script weaves fact with fiction and balances the gravity of the situation with plenty of light-hearted satire.

The tone is set when a young (and thus vulnerable) man goes to an old quack to discuss his homosexual thoughts. The quack recommends electrical aversion therapy and in response to the youth’s concerns he declares: “what are a few headaches if you’re cured?”

There are some fine performances in the play. Michael Feast (with Celia Imrie above) uses his first-hand experience to portray Gielgud well (he appeared with the great man in No Man’s Land), and John Warnaby admirably acts up as both Chiltern Moncrieffe, rotund critic and devout supporter of Gielgud, and Home Secretary Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, now infamous for his aims to eradicate homosexuality from society.

Warnaby’s two opposing characters highlight the theme of contradiction that runs throughout the play. De Jongh uses it to symbolise the difference of opinion between rightwing politicians and outspoken journalists, and the more sympathetic general public. The most vivid moment is a powerful scene that places a young gay couple’s passion on the same stage as Sir David as he plots the end of homosexuality.

A funny and informing take on a shocking situation, Plague Over England is a good evening out.

Showing at the Duchess Theatre (London, WC2B 5LA: Box Office 08444124659) until 16 May.