Review: QUAINT HONOUR, Finborough Theatre

Fifty-nine years after it first premiered, Roger Gellert's Quaint Honour is revived as part of the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act.

In 1950s Britain, homosexuality is still illegal, but this doesn't deter the boys at boarding school. Following a dare, Tully (Harley Viveash) sets off to seduce one of the younger pupils, Hamilton (Jack Archer). Little did he know his actions would kick off something bigger than headmaster Hallows' (Simon Butteriss) rage.

Directed by Christian Durham, the show is an emotional and heartfelt journey of self-discovery. Set in a time dominated by a strikingly different approach to intimacy from our hyper-sexualised society's, the cast plays the illicit undertones of a too-proper culture with ease and subtlety.

Park's (Oliver Gully) internalised homophobia and Hallows' faked ease in having to explain sex to young boys are in direct opposition to Tully and Turner's (Jaques Miche) playfully sensual relationship. The latter is in turn contrasted with Tully and Hamilton's, which hides a deeper meaning for the elder boy.

Viveash is stunning as the initially cocky and confident House Prefect, whose coolly disheveled composure is disrupted by feelings stronger than he anticipated. His elegant yet carefully thought-out body language makes him stand out beside the fidgety headmaster, self-conscious Hamilton, stiff Park and boyish Turner, visually making him the focus of the play.

As headmaster Hallows, Butteriss goes from jittery, embarrassed sex talk to a genuinely imposing figure - while retaining the character's tics, and his determination to understand the boys, no matter the mores of the time. Archer's Hamilton matures from a scared young Junior to an assertive, self-assured young man - one who shapes Tully as much as Tully shapes him.

Pervasive throughout is the damage caused by sexual oppression - laid out in bold, no-nonsense form by Gellert's script. Tackling everything from the silencing of homosexuals to reprisal from both the state and education system, the play offers an uncompromising look at "right" and "wrong", and the perils of deciding what and who are socially acceptable.

Quaint Honour runs at Finborough Theatre until 21 November.

Photo credit: Tristan Bell

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