Mirrorball – powerful, authentic theatre that uses humour to shine a light on a serious topic (Replay Theatre in Lyric Theatre as part of Belfast Children’s Festival) #BCF23

Autobiographical shows litter festival and fringe programmes. They are vehicles that suit comics and solo performers, and some work better than others. But Replay Theatre Company’s Mirrorball did not disappoint and stands out as an exceptional piece of writing and production, with an authenticity that is coupled with a lightness of touch that keeps it entertaining and educational but never worthy.

Based on Matt Cavan’s real-life experience of living with HIV and being harassed when he performs in drag as Cherrie Ontop, the upbeat show sensitively explores the dichotomy of internal and external pressures on the performer while shedding light more generally on identity and the conflicts that can conspire around it.

The madcap action starts in a cabaret club where Cherrie is belting out the catchy title song. Faceless protesters – the masked Narrow Minders (played by Sean Kearns and Jolene O’Hara) – burst into the theatre, intent on finding the event in Matt’s life that seeded the idea of becoming a drag artist and sucking it out of his brain in a radical act of conversion therapy. But their plans are thwarted – or at least temporarily disordered – when Cherrie escapes through her looking glass and they are left in the dressing room with Billy the ravenous stage manager (Gerard McCabe) who is driven by his personal desire for a curry and his professional need for his cast and his show to be protected.

Patrick J O’Reilly’s brilliant writing immediately grabs the power back from the haters and disrupters using humour in the place of violence. Their concerns are still voiced, and their actions still threaten, but somehow the Narrow Minders’ use of household objects and nonsensical arguments exposes their malicious meanderings as hate-filled bullying and homophobia with a heavy sprinkling of toxic masculinity.

Jumping through the mirror into the ‘portal to Potential’ allows Kearns to reappear as another drag queen, Sasha Supper, who broke the connection with her own storytelling creator when he received abuse doing readings in a library. Sasha throws shade at the oppressors and introduces some historical context without turning the show into a school lesson. Potential has the calm and security of a therapist’s consulting room, albeit with 18 different-sized glitterballs hanging from the ceiling. It’s a break from the torment and torture in the real world, where Billy the stage manager – a powerful ally who has the power to help break the cycle – is calling out the name-calling as childish behaviour. And Potential is the place where Cherrie can be reminded that her creation was part of how Matt coped with all that was going on in his life: “Hit rock bottom / No way to stop / Bless my soul / For Cherrie Ontop”.

Garth McConaghie’s soundscape envelopes the performance and the audience. His synth-pop anthems inject energy and emotion into the story. We Are The Party would not be lost on the Eurovision Song Contest stage. Vocal effects and delayed echoes build up the richness of the performances from the four musically talented performers. The lyrics reinforce biographical detail, giving the show its feeling of authenticity. Jonathan M Daley’s precision lighting creates stunning scenes: shortly after the interval a downward beam bounces off Cherrie’s costume and splits into shafts of brilliant light across the auditorium. It’s spectacular to witness from the back row of the stalls.

The secret of Mirrorball is that the script and direction (Janice Kernoghan-Reid) keeps it light, balancing threats with humour, and fending off depression with supportive colleagues. It’s deadly serious, yet you’re never far from a smile.

Having highlighted how debilitating bullying can be, the show asks whether Matt has the strength to fight the hate and the stigma? With the Narrow Minders choosing not to engage or better understand what’s happening, what right have they to suppress Matt’s opportunity to express “more of all of me”? Mirrorball also works on other levels too. The examination of self, the paralysis of insecurity, the public versus private personas, and the power of allies and friends to step with you on the journey against fear and prejudice apply to so many issues of identity and self-worth.

After four performances during Belfast Children’s Festival, the glittery mirrorballs and Diana Ennis’ cabaret theatre set have been packed away. But Replay Theatre’s production should definitely return, not just to local stages, but further afield in international arts festivals where the universal themes (and Northern Ireland’s conservative tendencies) would stand up to critical scrutiny.

Photo credit: Jan McCullough

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