Cast photo © Grant Barker

 

Beautiful Thing by Jonathan Harvey was written in 1993, set in low-rise council flats in Thamesmead in South East London. It is a feel good tale that has been performed many times over the years since.

We meet five diverse characters who live in three adjacent flats with a shared open space in front of their doors. Jamie (Jeremiah Humphreys-Piercy) is a troubled fifteen year old lad who does not enjoy his school, living with his mother Sandra (Amber-May Ellis) a seemingly hard bitten single mum who spends long hours working in pubs and pursuing a series of casual relationships.

Next door lives another teenager, Ste (Thomas Capon) with his drug dealing brother and abusive violent father. His father beats him so badly that Sandra offers him sanctuary next door, but in their tiny flat he has to share a bed with Jamie. They soon discover that they rather like this and explore their emerging sexuality. Meanwhile at the next flat up lives Leah (Andi Ruth) a sassy, drug taking teenage girl who again avoids school and enjoys life, a bit too much. She and Sandra often trade insults in appropriately South London terms. The cast is completed by Tony (Richard Vojvoda) a roaming hippie who has charmed his way into Sandra’s arms (and bed) as he wanders through life. Leah seems at first to be a cheeky observer of her neighbours, ready to snap at them, but emerges as a caring part of their close community.

The stuff of the play is the interactions of the neighbours as they each work through their own life story. There is a lot of intimacy and sexual reference, a little bit of the violence that was far from uncommon in close knit working communities but above all the drama is about everyday life closely observed rather than the more violent drama familiar in some contemporary works that explored the same theme of emerging homosexuality. This refreshing approach is undoubtedly why this heartwarming play has been performed so many times over the years.

Portraying teenagers on stage is notoriously difficult. I remember seeing a stage version of Anne Frank’s Diary many years ago and restraining myself when the soldiers appeared from shouting out “she’s in the attic” after a bit too much thirteen year old screeching on stage. In this production Jeremiah, Thomas and Andi are absolutely convincing in the characteristics of their teenage roles with the combination of energy, gauche embarrassment and confused subdued anger perfectly depicted. The role of Jamie is a particularly tough challenge for the actor and this performance is faultless and engaging. Jamie’s mother Sandra seems at first to be a formidable and forceful character but as we learn of her own hardships through life we warm to her ‘tough love’ approach to bringing up Jamie, and her acceptance of his sexuality is a key issue in the drama.

Part of the enduring appeal of the play is that every character clearly has the potential to be unpleasant and selfish but in the end they all find redemption in their shared humanity and kindness. Far too much contemporary TV and film drama indulges the more despicable aspects of human beings to excess, it is very refreshing to see a play where the people depicted feel like most of us do, trying to make the best of often difficult lives. At a time when far right politics is surging we need more works like Beautiful Thing to remind us that people are not generally intolerant and violent.

The audience tonight looked significantly younger than is sometimes the case in theatres in Norwich and I am sure that many younger watchers will derive comfort in setting their own concerns against those of the denizens of the three flats shown here. This is a superbly written play that really is life affirming and will send you home smiling and happy. Director Tom Scudamore has honed memorable performances from his cast and together they should feel very proud of this delightful show from Sewell Barn Theatre.

©Julian Swainson
Norwich Eye
4 June 2026

Beautiful Thing by Jonathan Harvey is at Sewell Barn Theatre 10-13 June 2026 at 7.30pm, with a matinée at 2.30 on 13 June. For more info and tickets go to www.sewellbarn.org