‘It was the first time, when we were together; when we were embracing that I felt that I had a pride. A pride for the person I was.’

Ahead of starting rehearsals next month, Green Carnation Company has announced their cast for Alexi Kaye Campbell’s powerful debut production, The Pride which will open at Hope Mill Theatre on Tuesday 16^th October.

Simon Hallman plays Oliver, in the 1950s portrayed as a quietly confident gay writer paralleled by his modern day counterpart who is a self-destructive whirlwind of casual sex and witty one-liners. Gareth George plays Philip who in both time periods plays the object of Oliver’s affection, both as an adulterous husband in the 1950s and as his boyfriend in the modern day. Joanna Leese plays Sylvia, who in both time periods is fated to always introduce Oliver and Philip to each other, but longs for her own freedom and independence. Joining the trio is Alex Thompson whose multiple roles include a comic rent boy with a taste for dominance, a laddish sports editor and a psychiatrist.

Switching between alternate timelines of 1958 and 2008, The Pride follows a love triangle between three characters and the different routes their lives could take, dependent on the decade they were born in.

Deeply moving and with a razor sharp-wit, this debut piece from Alexi Kaye Campbell examines changing attitudes to sexuality, looking at intimacy, identity and the courage it takes to be who you really are, celebrating the ideals of gay pride and challenging ideas of shame and the worth we put on ourselves.

Director Dan Jarvis says “As we move past the anniversary for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, the relevance of this phenomenal play seems more striking than ever. Whether they inhabit the 1950s or modern day, these characters are so human and identifiable and are all searching for a way out of loneliness. Their need to find a connection that allows them to feel pride in themselves is something we can all relate to.”

The production will also work with recent LIPA design graduates Frankie Gerrard and Joe Roberts to create a shifting, ethereal, colour-saturated production that pays homage to the subtly queer cinema of Todd Haynes and Tom Ford.

It is directed by North West Theatre Director Dan Jarvis, and produced by Associate director Dan Ellis.

The Pride runs at Hope Mill Theatre from Tue 16 – Sat 20 October tickets available here.