Let’s be truthful, gay fringe theatre can sometimes be very hit and miss, often tending more to the latter than the former. It is with happy heart though that I can be further truthful and say that A Thousand Miles of History is almost wholly hit.
A well-researched, exceptionally well-directed and acted production, it tells the story of pioneering 80s ‘street art’ painters Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, and their blazing trajectories through the snobbish Manhattan art world, their drug abuse and eventual intertwining of lives with art legend Andy Warhol.
Art verses life
To be fair, pigeon-holing this visually stimulating and beguiling drama as ‘gay theatre’ is to do its aspirations a disservice, as it deals mostly with the wider context of art verses life rather than another examination of homosexuality. Yet Keith Haring was gay, Basquiat a hustler in his teens and Warhol a fairly open conduit to most experimentation, therefore many themes of sexuality find themselves into the production’s script. All three main actors give good performances, with Michael Walters’ Basquiat livid and vital, and Adam Riches’ Warhol a perfectly deadpan construction.
Trying to fit too much in
So where, perhaps you ask, does the show lose one star? Well, it simply tries to fit too much in. Dealing with art, life, sexuality, race, class, father-son dynamics, drugs, AIDS and the lives of three of the most famous twentieth-century artists all in the space of two and a half hours feels occasionally like an insurmountable onslaught. Some scenes suffer as a consequence and lose interest, particularly in the stilted interaction between Basquiat and his father, played (well) by Joseph Mydell.
However, overall this was an important, powerful and emotionally affecting production. If you enjoy theatre or are interested in any of the artists featured, I would advise to catch this play before it finishes its run.
A Thousand miles of History is at The Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, Peckham, SE15 4ST. Mon 4th – Sat 30th March. Mon-Sat 7.45pm, Sat 3.30pm. £10-14.
www.athousandmilesofhistory.co.uk
