Gateway To Heaven

"An immaculately performed play about the history of lesbians and gays, taken from the experiences and memories of ordinary people."
New Statesman

Gateway To Heaven is a play written entirely from the memories of older lesbians and gay men. It was scripted by Clare Summerskill and both its writing and the full production have been funded by The Arts Council. After a sell out run at Oval House London last year the show will now be touring around the country in the Autumn from 2nd October to 4th November 2006. See the dates page to find out where you can view the play

Clare Summerskill

Clare Summerskill has written and produced several plays for her own company Artemis, including the award winning "An Evening With Katie's Gang" (performed at Oval House, London) She has also written for companies including Age Exchange Theatre Company and Women and Theatre, Birmingham. She has contributed to several sketch shows on Radio 4 including the last series of Weekending, So What If I Am and Heated Rollers for Radio 2. She writes and performs her own one woman shows which tour every year around to theatres around the country. For details please visit claresummerskill.co.uk

Reviews

"An outstanding piece of theatre" Kenric Magazine

"Throughout this beautifully crafted piece of theatre we feel the uplifting strength of the human spirit and hear unity across all the different voices and stories which gives it a wide appeal to a range of audiences, young and old, lesbian, gay or heterosexual. For some it will be a nostalgic story, for others it will be an eye-opener to a different era" Gay Carers Magazine

"A fascinating, involving piece which directly engages the audience with its spark, warmth and wit" Theatreworld Internet Magazine

A very small audience at the Mumford was there to see a short play about a very big issue: what it is to be lesbian or gay in Britain. If that sounds a touch heavy, a tad 'we've been here before' or a smidgeon, 'I bet it's all agitprop', then you'd have been surprised. The play performed by four highly talented professional actors, is taken from transcripts of 26 older lesbians and gays recorded by Clare Summerskill, who doubles as one of the quartet of performers. The result of listening to real lives is refreshingly uplifting - here were tales of fumbled first kisses, blushing initiates and slow awakenings. The great thing about this highly entertaining play is the way it all fits so well together. The four actors create a plethora of interesting (because they are real) people who each has a story to tell: sometimes sad such as the Wren who is kicked out of the Royal Navy for admitting to her lesbian nature; others are very funny such as memories of a seedy pick-up cinema in central London where the audience were more interested in a grope in the back stalls than Brando up on the silver screen.

Because Summerskill had interviewed older people, most of the stories and memories came from the 1940s to 1960s when homosexual activity was illegal and life was all about dodging the police, hiding it all from one's family and living a clandestine existence in one of the many hidden bars of Soho. If all this sounds a bit grim, it was far from that. The production was a wonderful primer in theatricality (Am Dram companies please note and do come and see how it should be done). With a sparse set and just a handful of costumes, the players created such energy and pace that we were convinced that a chair stood for Hyde Park Corner or a little suitcase became a lifetime of memories. The actors took on a myriad of roles from Greenham Common women to a man who picked up the head of the London Met vice squad. The direction was all lightness of touch and there was a clever music score that fitted every mood. The overall tone was light and positive. The play, which ends with the politicisation of gays and lesbians in the 1980s, fixes itself firmly to the human stories, which because they are just that, rarely fail to amuse, illuminate and cast a light on what was once a hidden world. The stories are often surprising: the butch lesbian in drag who earned a living as a cat burglar in Kensington; the shy girl who passes off an invitation to party with Dusty Springfield and regrets it all her life. If you missed this play (as most of you did), you missed a little theatrical gem that warms the cockles and reminds us that human stories are the very best kind. Mike Levy, www.localsecrets.com