Among Angels at the Courtyard Theatre

Everyone has a dark side, right? And as such every part of our community too? So it’s no surprise that the LGBT community is no exception and of course, some of these darker elements are quite well known these days but perhaps the lesser discussed or publicised side of this is the influence of drugs.

The war on drugs has been going on for more years than I can count even with my shoes off and it’s still the case that many people would rather pretend it’s not a problem or doesn’t exist.

So, credit to Timothy Graves – writer and Producer of Among Angels – for approaching this topic unflinchingly and giving us some insight (however dramatised) into the way some circles have adopted habitual drug use and the impact this can have on interpersonal relationships, self-image, lifestyle and health.

Our main character is a disgraced teacher, accused of what is essentially date-rape and being interrogated by the police and the journey Graves takes us on is a rapid descent into depravity and excess from there culminating in…. well, that would be spoiling it now, wouldn’t it?

What I will say is that the Angels reference in the title is a hint to a heavy dose of spiritualism that runs through the piece that carries an overall positive message of love and self-worth. It’s no substitute for character development though, which unfortunately seems to some degree to be how it’s used.

With this prominent spiritual leaning and the characters being very extreme representations of an already quite extreme side of LGBT life, the overall effect is a bit much at times and whether played for shock or high impact, it would be hard to say that much of Among Angels is immediately relatable.

But maybe that’s the point. Maybe it’s so hard to comprehend that series of situations from the outside that extreme characterisation and symbolism is the only way to effectively portray the emotions and events that would surround this kind of life.

Of course, I’ll never know. All I can say that is that I went to Among Angels in the hope of learning something about a part of life that I will almost certainly never experience and while I can’t say that I got much in the way of facts, I’ve come away from the evening with a new insight into it all and having been entertained.

With a quality, hard-working cast, this is worth seeing on the merit of its entertainment value alone and if it speaks to you in some way then all the better.

Review by Damien Russell

Chris – a school teacher and recent victim of a false allegation – is faced with the biggest choice he will ever make at a Chemsex party. Overdosing on crystal meth, will he choose to build a new life filled with love or face his demons and fix his current situation? A new play about love, addiction and redemption.

Company: Seraphim Theatre Company
Writer: Timothy Graves

Among Angels
3rd April 2019 to 27th April 2019 – 7.30pm
Courtyard Theatre
http://www.thecourtyard.org.uk/