DETENTION
Northern Stage
★★★½
“touching and urgent”
Setting the stage with a deep abyss-like space looming behind a protest banner which stitches together protest messaging now richly associated with the 1980s LGBTQ+ rights movement, from the start, ‘Detention’ by Gary Clarke looks to be an urgent call to action which negotiates an eerily close then and now of queer liberation. What unravels is a dance-led retelling of haunting stories of working-class queer folks’ experiences fighting against, and ultimately living under, Section 28.
The piece is set to cerebral and heart-pounding soundscapes and voice overs which collide with the Narrator, played by Lewey Hellewell, who provides context, facts, and rallying cries to different sequences. The narration mostly provides a necessary emotional and informative thread between the chronology of events and the evocative stories the piece uncovers, but at times feels very on the nose. Largely projected words reading ‘Aids’, as well as various slurs and phrases, also lack subtly across mostly mesmerising choreographic episodes. These heavy-handed projected words take the audience out of the emotion and spoon-feed what they most likely can deduce from the intricate movement and staging of the overall performance. Film projections of a juddery and vexed Thatcher, played by El Perry, and a heart-to-heart from a teacher (Sarah Squires) afraid of what coming out at work might result in, work for much more thought-through audio-visual aids. More integration of film, multi-media, and historical materials like newspaper headlines, banners, and photographs, could make for a much rawer patchwork of theatre seeking to tell queer histories. This, coupled with Nia Wood, Chris Copland, and Keir Martin’s excellent execution of sound and lighting design, would make for a much more serious tone.
Though powerful and emotional messages of resistance and struggle cut through the noise, unfortunately ‘Detention’ somewhat faulters at delivering the urgence and importance of spotlighting the community it is voicing. The gorgeously designed blue costuming (by Hannah Boothman) of the House of Lords sequence, combined with electrifyingly slick choreography performed by Alexandra Bierlaire, Gavin Coward, Mayowa Ogunnaike, Alex Gosmere, and Imogen Wright, and underscored by Hellewell’s chilling delivery of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, highlights the real triumphs of what this piece can achieve. Furthermore, the almost teasing portrayal of demonised gay friendly children’s books also gave a fascinating angle to this part of Section 28’s harmful effects.
‘Detention’ does well to integrate LGBTQ+ Switchboard logbook stories into its narrative, carefully weaving the isolated, scared, and angry words of callers against a backdrop of tortured solo physical theatre. One drawback to these moments is the unwavering silence which each caller is met with, which perhaps draws a false message of inaction against vital listening and advice services. Further dialogue between or with call-handlers would provide a richer insight into the service’s history. It is also unfortunate that it seemed the only queer woman’s story represented through the Switchboard segments centred around motherhood and child custody. Enlightening further aspects of queer women’s struggles through Section 28, besides those relating to motherhood, would further enhance the show’s vision to tell an authentic story of a benchmark in queer British history.
Lastly, the inclusion of a local community cast affected by Section 28 in each place the piece is performed in is a beautiful aspect of ‘Detention’s’ mission. Community actors Steve Boodhun, Hedley Sugar-Wells, Tony Chapman-Wilson, Lindsay Nicholson, and Gary Short integrate brilliantly into the cast. The sincerity of stories and collaboration between the dancers and the community actors creates a touching and urgent driving home of the piece’s natural unifying message.
DETENTION
Northern Stage
Reviewed on 16th September 2025
by Molly Knox
Photography by Joe Armitage
Previously reviewed by Molly:
BECAUSE YOU NEVER ASKED | ★★★ | EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE | August 2025
CREEPY BOYS: SLUGS | ★★★★★ | EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE | August 2025
THE CITY FOR INCURABLE WOMEN | ★★★★ | EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE | August 2025
DOGS ON THE METRO | ★★★★★ | LIVE THEATRE | May 2025
HEAVEN | ★★★★ | TRAVERSE THEATRE | February 2025
PRESENT | ★★★★ | LIVE THEATRE | December 2024
GWYNETH GOES SKIING | ★★★★ | LIVE THEATRE | November 2024
ST MAUD | ★★★ | LIVE THEATRE | October 2024
