Quentin Crisp (1908-1999) was one of the most memorable public figures of the twentieth century. Openly and flamboyantly gay as far back as the 1920’s (for which he was routinely beaten in the streets of London), Crisp was also a great survivor, determined to live life on his own authentic terms no matter what the cost.
Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope, a solo play which celebrates a life of degradation, ostracism and adversity-born humour, comes to Brighton’s Rialto Theatre on Fri 31 July- Sun 2 Aug. Tickets are £12.50. The play explores Quentin at two distinct phases of his life: alone in his Chelsea flat in the late 1960’s, stoically certain that life and love have passed him by, and then thirty years later, giving a performance of his one man show An Evening with Quentin Crisp in New York. Packed with witty gems on everything from cleaning (“Don’t bother…after the first four years the dirt won’t get any worse”) to marriage (“Is there life after marriage? The answer is no”), the script delivers the very best of Quentin Crisp, whose ‘message of hope’ is more relevant than ever in an age of bland conformity and identikit social media profiles.
Naked Hope is written and performed by Mark Farrelly, a Sheffield-born Cambridge graduate whose West End credits include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opposite Matthew Kelly at Trafalgar Studios. He is also writer / performer of The Silence of Snow: The Life of Patrick Hamilton, which is currently being turned into a film. Mark has just completed writing Howerd’s End, a new two-handed stage play which celebrates the impending centenary of Frankie Howerd.
Naked Hope will appear at The Rialto Theatre in Brighton on Friday 31st July, Saturday 1st August and Sunday 2nd August. All performances at 7.30pm, and tickets are £12.50 (concessions £10). These three performances are in support of Brighton’s Rainbow Fund, which supports LGBT groups in the Brighton area. Naked Hope will next be seen at the 1,000-seat Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne in November, so the Rialto performances are a rare chance to catch the show in a wonderfully intimate setting.
www.rialtotheatre.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-events/quentin-crisp
Photo provided by The Rialto Theatre
