Abseiling lesbians! Queers in classrooms! Perverts panicking parents!
Thatcher’s Section 28, which banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools, was the landmark legislation that silenced a generation, offered a global blueprint for LGBTQ+ oppression and galvanised a movement.
Billy Barrett and Ellice Stevens’s After the Act is a funny, camp and unapologetically queer musical about how a moral panic gripped a nation – and a community decided to fight back. Its inspiring, often heartbreaking, stories of teachers, students and activists impacted by the legislation are accompanied by a joyously exuberant score written by Frew and inspired by the music of the 1980s.
It was first produced in 2023 by the award-winning theatre and film company Breach at New Diorama Theatre, London, before performances during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and a UK tour in 2024.
‘Fizzing, fiery… sparkling satire… this musical feels exceptional… a massive achievement’
— Guardian
‘Fantastically daring… magnificent’
— Time Out
‘Empowering and gut-wrenching… full of righteous anger and euphoric 80s synths’
— Telegraph
‘Heart-rending yet joyful… brilliantly conveys the hysteria and outrage of Section 28’
— The Stage
‘A powerful and important piece of theatre’
— Broadway World
‘A moving tribute, a cry of fury, and a timely reminder against complacency – entertaining, provocative and important’
— Arts Desk
