19 – 20 July

A young Jehovah’s Witness comes to terms with his sexuality and finds his feet (and high heels…) in a world he once believed would be destroyed at Armageddon.

Birthmarked is a new concept gig written and performed by Brook Tate and his grand ol’ band of pals. Using songs he has written over the last six years, Brook tells the story – his story – of a young gay Jehovah’s Witness as he comes to terms with his sexuality and finds his feet (and high heels…) in a world he once believed would be destroyed at Armageddon. With original music likened to Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell, and alongside a whale, a paintbrush and a pair of tap shoes, he hopes to shine a light on what it means to be marked…at birth.

 Written and composed by Brook Tate, and directed by Sally Cookson (Wonder Boy, A Monster Calls).

Photo credit: Paul Blakemore