Agroup of women convene around a piano in a nondescript room for weekly singing practice. It could be any amateur choir in any town hall, but this motley group first meet to be among fellow lesbians and then embark on a quest to perform on the main stage of the Pride festival in a national competition.
For a while, Iman Qureshi’s comic musical drama follows an “against-all-odds” trajectory, in the mould of a good, old-fashioned underdog endeavour warmly reminiscent of The Full Monty or Calendar Girls. It is exuberant and uplifting, accomplishing the extraordinary feat of being broad and universal in its appeal, yet speaking to and about the lesbian and queer community.
Directed by Hannah Hauer-King, characters are comic but run clear of cliche; everyone is flawed but lovable, more and more as they reveal who they are. Shuna Snow infuses her part as conductor and Older Wiser Lesbian (OWL) with adorable physical comedy; Leah Harvey is excellent as Lori who is only half out of the closet; Georgie Henley’s performance, as Lori’s partner, Ana, grows from strength to strength. The frisson between Fi (Liz Carr) and Bridget (Mariah Louca) feels delicious until it turns into ideological schism, while Fanta Barrie is charming as the group’s lothario. Serena Manteghi is charming as Dina too, although her storyline (a woman in a controlling heterosexual relationship) is the only one which feels under-written. Zak Ghazi-Torbati, acting all marginal male parts, brings great comic froth.
The interpersonal gripes and tensions are not huge in the first hour of the drama but, like paper cuts, surprisingly painful for something so small. There is sentiment but it is never sugary or manipulative. The serious brushes closely alongside the comic and vice versa. Connie, as the OWL is sent up for her old-school language, but so is Ana for the tyranny of her political correctness while there are passing, playful, digs at pronouns.
To add to the mood-transforming magic are the songs, which are by turns funny (especially in a Bizet, Charli xcx and Lady Gaga mashup), full of feeling, and heart-stoppingly lovely in a cappella.
There is a sharp left turn after the interval when the play re-orients its tone and purpose, so it seems, to turn audaciously into something different. Its arc is no longer that of the uplifting endeavour. Now it talks more directly about issues around these women’s identities and sexualities, from the attenuation of public spaces for lesbians to everydayhomophobia. At the centre is acrisis-point over trans identity that hits this choir.
But drama is never sacrificed on the altar of sincerity.
Story takes primacy and like best “heart warming” narratives, it wriggles its way in your heart to take residency there, weaving its delicate balance between the silly, sweet and serious. Having had a first run at Soho theatre in 2022, this is a second incarnation. Let’s hope for a third. Genuinely heart warming, and utterly winning with it.
At Kiln theatre, London, until 12 July