Redcliffe at Southwark Playhouse Borough – review

Redcliffe is the brainchild of musical theatre performer Jordan Luke Gage, who wrote the book, music, and lyrics.

Inspired by true events and set between 1752 and 1753 in the Redcliffe district in Bristol, it explores the devastating consequences of two gay men and their forbidden love.

Andrew Exeter’s stage design is stripped back – a wooden, elevated platform that becomes dwellings, the Redcliffe caves, a prison cell and a courtroom. There is a wooden beam, at ceiling height, with the words Redcliffe 1752 to 1753 carved around. The costumes are 18th-century working-class attire – muted colours and practical fabrics.

Sensitively directed by Paul Foster, it centres on the Critchard family. Widow (Rebecca Lock), daughter Abigail (Jess Douglas Welsh) and son William (Luke Gage). Their father died in a tragic accident at work in the coal mines. Money is tight, and their mother’s main concern (read: obsession) is ensuring her children are married.

Abigail wants this too. Besotted with local boy Arthur (Joseph Peacock), she is enthusiastic and committed to the cause. Lock is brilliantly overbearing, dramatic, but utterly lovable, living in a constant state of giddiness.

The family are steeped within a deeply religious Christian community – it is God before anything else. Morals and doing right by the Lord is the primary concern. Homosexuality is illegal, and everyone knows this.

It’s Christmas, and William, whilst at the local pub, meets Richard Arnold (Daniel Krikler). He invites William out to a soiree – there’s dancing and the alcohol is flowing, and they share a brief kiss before Richard flees. Later, they end up in the Redcliffe caves, where the tragedy begins to unfurl.

With over 21 songs, Luke Gage has created a masterpiece of a musical on queer love which uplifts, entertains and unites. The songs are big and rousing, but they are funny too – as is the musical as a whole.

“A Pint of Four” gets the first applause of the night, sung primarily by Landlady Jade Johnson. Followed by “A Million Things I Know,” an Ed Sheeran-esque duet sung by Richard and William, a fun and cheeky number. One of the most entertaining songs is “The Most Amazing Wedding,” a catchy and hilarious ditty.

It is a tale of two halves. In the first act, we laugh heartily, but by act two, there are gentle tears as the play heads towards its tragic end. There is a tenderness between Luke Gage and Krikler and we are drawn into their blossoming relationship, which is cut short by religion and the law – and a world not ready for change. When Lock sings “Hurricane” with raw emotion, it’s a song filled with anguish, and we feel it in every note.

Redcliffe no doubt tugs at the heartstrings but leaves us with the stark message that to this day, there are 12 countries in the world where same sex relationships are punishable by death. Sadly, we have a long way to go.