This musical about life under the homophobic Section 28 is light years away from depressing

Before he took over at the Royal Court, Artistic Director David Byrne ran fringe venue the New Diorama, transforming it into a hub of innovation and acclaim, nurturing the likes of Operation Mincemeat, which became a sensation. It is, therefore, little wonder that he has invited a number of these creative colleagues to join him at his august new premises in Sloane Square, a venue sorely in need of an infusion of fresh blood.

After the Act – subtitled “a Section 28 musical” – started life at the New Diorama and it gives me great pleasure to say that Billy Barrett and Ellice Stevens’s work is exactly the sort of show that the Royal Court should be producing.

MANDATORY CREDIT - Alex Brenner After the Act Royal Court Theatre (c) Alex Brenner. No use without credit. Provided by NatashaRyszka-Onions@royalcourttheatre.comThe aim was to create a “Trojan horse of a glittering camp spectacle housing a documentary theatre piece that might otherwise have sounded just too depressing”, according to writer Billy Barrett (Photo: Alex Brenner)

It’s not perfect – a little judicious editing wouldn’t come amiss – but it overflows with heart and conviction as it uses verbatim testimony and historical records to recount a panorama of young, and not so young, lives lived in the long shadow of fear cast by the Local Government Act of 1988. This forbidding piece of legislation, of course, decreed that local authorities should not “intentionally promote homosexuality” or “promote the teaching… of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.

A vigorous group of four performers (Ericka Pousadas, Nkara Stephenson, Stevens and Zachary Willis) play multiple roles, as well as sing Frew’s attractive 80s-influenced music, as they take us through scenes in the sad life of Section 28. We have two protesters storming the studio of BBC’s News at Six, where an indomitable Sue Lawley carries on regardless. There is much (often performative) outrage, eagerly stoked by the right-wing press, from parents who fear that schools will soon be awash with copies of Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin, the Danish children’s book that caused such a furore in its depiction of a gay couple and their daughter.

Most movingly, After the Act, directed with commitment by Barrett, offers poignant snapshots of the people most directly affected, those who found themselves legally unable to express their innermost selves. The burly Willis conveys the desperate fear and loneliness of 15-year-old grammar school pupil Ian, whose undiscussable desires prompt him to attempt suicide. Stevens portrays a PE teacher who talks of having to lead a “double life”, pretending to live alone so as not to disclose the existence of a girlfriend. Heartbreakingly, the teacher refuses to speak to a confused gay pupil for fear that this could result in the loss of her job.

Almost inevitably, Mrs Thatcher makes an appearance – in a sparkly blue dress with a glitter ball above her head – because, as Barrett explains in a programme note, the aim was to create a “Trojan horse of a glittering camp spectacle housing a documentary theatre piece that might otherwise have sounded just too depressing”. After the Act is light years away from depressing – although it is salutary to recall that Section 28 was only repealed in 2003.

To 14 June (royalcourttheatre.com)