Multi-talented writer-performer Rob Madge brings their award-winning autobiographical production to Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre.

Don’t let the ‘tongue-in-cheek’ title of this hit show deceive you. Whilst Madge’s warmth and humanity guarantee an evening full of laughter, there’s a serious political edge to ‘My Son’s A Queer’. The personal and political are brought together in a powerfully defiant and utterly joyful celebration of being different. At a time when the trans community continue to face rising levels of prejudice, thanks in large part to the concocted culture war concept of ‘wokeness’, this heart-warming story of one family’s unconditional love for their musical-adoring queer son feels more important than ever.

I was lucky enough to see the show last year when it was playing at the Ambassador’s Theatre in London so was delighted to discover it was embarking on a national tour, taking in several venues in the Midlands. It is as infectiously charming as I remember: moving, poignant, laugh-out-loud funny and, in its ultimate message of pride and acceptance, empowering for the LGBTQ+ community and their families.

Forget football. Like so many of us, when Rob was a child, it was all about Disney. Their interest moved way beyond watching the films and loving the stories, however. At 12, they attempted to stage a full-blown Disney parade in the family home. Costumes, music, songs, special effects, teacup waltzer ride. The works. Not everything went to plan and the various technical glitches led Rob to create a series of steps to hosting the perfect parade. These steps anchor the performance, shaping the narrative of Rob’s journey to the stage.

Directed by Luke Sheppard, the show is as much about family as it is about identity. Through an hilarious selection of home video footage, projected onto a giant tv screen at the back of the stage, we quickly get to know Rob’s family. Their dad emerges as a kind and fiercely supportive figure, roped into stage managing his son’s theatrical exploits and filming a range of performances from the Beast to Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse and Mary Poppins. The relationship with their grandparents is at the heart of the show, however, and when it emerges that Rob would much rather play Belle than the Beast it is not just accepted but embraced.

Madge’s childhood theatrical flair, and penchant for wigs, is writ fabulously large from the moment they sing the opening number (‘Anything is Possible’) sporting sparkling pink shorts. The living room set perfectly places us anywhere and everywhere: this story of self-discovery is not unique, taking place in homes up and down the country, and across the world. Sharing the stage with the home video projections works nicely to link past and present.

Perhaps most poignant is a sequence in which Madge relates the experience of starting primary school and quickly coming up against rigidly gendered expectations of what ‘he’ should be interested in. The consequence – a period of unsuccessful repression – will chime with many LGBTQ+ people. A restricting world of pink and blue binaries is perfectly captured in an early lyric: ‘Why is it always a choice of two?’ Thankfully we live in much greyer, or rainbow-coloured, times but for too many young people growing up, being different remains fraught with difficulty.

For all the political undertones, ‘MSAQ’ is ultimately a joyful celebration of what it means to be human: messy, complex and infinitely varied. It is affirming, uplifting and full of hope for a future in which our children are raised without fear and prejudice. Bring on the parade.

‘My Son’s A Queer’ is playing at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre from 15^th to 17^th July 2024.