You can watch this new production at Southwark Playhouse Borough now
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGES BY CHRIS SAUNDERS
Four lesbian mechanics stand around the skeleton of a car. There’s a rumbling somewhere in Sheffield city centre about a new law that will ban people from talking about homosexuality. No one thinks it will actually get through government. For now, these four mechanics are more concerned about how they’re going to keep the lights on in their newly formed garage. And why the hell does the same ginger woman keep coming into the shop with her seemingly not-broken car?
Written by Nicky Hallett with music from Val Regan, Gwenda’s Garage is a lesbian musical like you have never seen before. It follows the story of a real-life lesbian mechanic shop in the 80s, Gwenda’s Garage, and the lives of its employees and patrons as they navigate 80s Britain under Thatcher. Set in Sheffield, the play tackles themes of class, race, sexuality, parenthood, education and more with toe-tappingly fun songs, moving ballads and lots of banter.
Repealed only in 2003, Section 28 – a series of laws that prohibited local authorities from “promoting homosexuality” – becomes a throughline for the musical. Each of its protagonists are impacted by the new legislation in different ways. For Bev (Nancy Brabin Platt), it threatens her ability to foster and adopt. For Terry (Sia Kiwa), Feona (Georgina Coram) and Dipstick (Lucy Mackay), it’s a chance to start a revolution. And for Carol (Eva Scott), it’s a threat to business on the whole. Each of these characters showcase the different ways Section 28 permeated the lives of lesbians, creating a rich tapestry of collective struggle.
Arriving on the back of the “lesbian Renaissance”, Gwenda’s Garage is exciting in its fresh approach to a history that has often been forgotten. Centred around working-class lesbians in Sheffield, it is raucous, rebellious and riveting in all the right ways. Eva Scott dazzles in particular as Carol, the hard-working mechanic who wants to see Gwenda’s not only survive but thrive. Lucy Mackay wins over the crowd with one-liners that will have you in stitches.
A lesbian musical about mechanics might not sound like the natural place for there to be banging tunes, but you would be surprised. The soundtrack moves from sing-along big songs to slower, moving tracks about identity, family and the future. Complete with a live band, the musical element to the show adds lightness even in the bleakest moments of Section 28.
As the audience is told right at the beginning of the show, this is not necessarily a completely real story. The events that happen are the amalgamation of history, foggy memory and lesbian lore. It is this universality that makes it so compelling. Too often, the stories of lesbians are sidelined to ancient history and Victorian chaste kisses. But lesbian history is immediate. It’s protest. It’s graffiti, it’s placard-making, it’s establishment shaking. It deserves to be on stage. And thanks to Gwenda’s Garage, you can revel in it for two hours.
You can book your tickets here.
Love media made by and for LGBTQIA+ women and gender diverse people? Then you’ll love DIVA. We’ve been spotlighting the community for over 30 years. Here’s how you can get behind queer media and keep us going for another generation: linkin.bio/ig-divamagazine
Did you know that DIVA has now become a charity? Our magazine is published by the DIVA Charitable Trust. You can find out more about the organisation and how you can offer your support here: divacharitabletrust.com