Cruise by Jack Holden is a tour de force through the heyday of Queer London – the celebratory seedy underbelly where lost boys are found and families are created.
A hedonistic crucible that reached a breaking point that not only defined a whole generation but saw the loss of countless beautiful souls and stories.
Throughout the work the audience is introduced to a plethora of characters – a cavalcade of unlikely heroes, eccentric creatures of the night, and the best people you could ever hope to meet.
The audience is introduced to Jack, a naive but somewhat level headed imp, working at a LGBTQ+ Switchboard as they try to juggle having it all. One hung over Saturday they have an encounter with a caller named Michael, an older man with a story to tell and in need of an ear to listen.
Jack Holden’s script is a cleverly written journey through the sometimes secretive and sometimes unknown history of 80s London. By using the characters of Jack and Michael as dual narrators, the work stays fresh, exciting and rarely dips into the realms of cliche.
The story and themes of the work are very well worn and yet Holden finds a masterful way to breathe heart wrenching humanity into the characters and a meticulously detailed world that catapults the audience to an underground era where misfits and malcontents reign supreme.
Sean Landis directs the production with an exquisite eye for detail and a firm grasp of the material. Every creative choice informs and serves the next, with great respect given to the themes and characters, as well as the historical legacy underpinning the work.
Landis infuses the work with a passion that throbs and beats, striking to the core of Micheal’s world while leaving room for each character to find their light and grounding a potentially chaotic script.
Fraser Morrison is nothing short of magnificent – stalking the stage with the ego and gravitas of a well seasoned performer.
It is utterly plausible to imagine a world where Jack Holden wrote the script specifically for Morrison, as every word, every thought, every character is fused to their bones and cascades out of them as the words have always existed in them.
Morrison’s ability to hold the audience in the palm of their hand for 90 minutes is testament to the sheer breadth of talent they possess.
Chelsea Wheatley’s set design creates a multi world playground – a liminal other space that is so perfectly crafted and considered that a mere chair or stool transports the audience to a club or bar or lounge room from days past. Tom Hicks’ lighting design is pitch perfect, working in symbiosis with Morrison to become almost another performer on stage.
A production this innovative and engaging is not just deserving of a longer season but brilliantly showcases a collective of artists that the major companies need to start taking notice of.
CRUISE
KXT on Broadway, 181 Broadway, Ultimo (Sydney)
Season continues to 22 February 2025
Bookings: www.humanitix.com
For more information, visit: www.fruitboxtheatre.com.au for details.
Image: Fraser Morrison – photo by Abraham de Souza
Review: Gavin Roach