Grand Atlantic Hotel, Weston-Super-Mare
Brothers across the Decades was a surprisingly moving one man show created by acclaimed performance artist Tom Marshman.
Tom was invited to return to Weston-super-Mare 30 years after he left and create a ‘shrine’ for the Weston LGBT community culminating in this theatre show to coincide with Pride weekend. In Brothers across the Decades, he remembers the town with part nostalgia and part longing for a different time, recounting stories of his youth, the characters that surrounded him and the devastating effects of AIDS. He also weaves in wider stories and memories from Weston’s present day Queer community.
The performance took place on the stage of the Grand Atlantic Hotel’s ballroom – and whilst I can only imagine the ballroom had seen better days, its tired decor was the perfect backdrop for this very authentic trip down memory lane.
The set was simple – a step ladder covered with weather map symbols. Weston-super-Mare was very much a feature of the show, with references to the weather along with directions to places of interest signposted in ‘flight attendant’ style, so that the audience was made to feel fully immersed in a true sense of place.
Costume was equally minimalist- the occasional use of an apron (with impeccable bow tying) to talk about his friend Roger who ran the café, or accessories to take you back to a fashion moment in time. But this simplicity created the space to showcase Tom’s impeccable comic timing and superb characterisation as he vividly recounted story after story of the key people in his life when he attended Weston college back in the early 90s to study performing arts.
The performance was punctuated by the titles of the course modules – cleverly timed to move from story to story. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments and you left the show feeling you knew his friends and fellow students – which only served to make the untimely passing from AIDS of his dear friend Roger even more tragic.
As well as Roger, the audience got to know Tom’s Greek-Cypriot friends who ‘used him as a way into understanding what girls really wanted’, his dance teacher who insisted on taking the class to endless competitions until a fight broke out and they weren’t invited back, the bar man who had a penchant for Galliano – and Zeus (the only character whose name he changed).
Brothers Across the Decades was interwoven with music (George Michael being a favourite) – sometimes as backdrop and at other times Tom would break into song. Alongside references to Jackie magazine and local nightclubs from times gone by, audience members of a certain age were definitely transported down memory lane – all through a unique queer lens.
As a tribute to the queer community of Weston and as one of Culture Weston’s ‘21st Century Super Shrine’ projects – funded by Historic England to represent seldom heard community voices through art experiences – this must be up there with the best. It was a joy to see such poignant and well observed storytelling from Tom was who was as self-deprecating as he was charming.
He’s been invited to perform Brothers across the Decades at the London Chelsea theatre in a couple of weeks. The show has already evolved from a short story about Roger – and as Tom said he’s letting the show evolve and find its own way. I’d be interested to see how the show works outside of Weston, as it feels to me that if you take this show on tour, you’ll have to take the town with it!
★★★☆☆ Rachel Drummond-Hay 4 July 2022
