Love and Petrol is a play that entertains and doesn't beat you over the head with a message you've heard already.
The 1 in 12 club anniversary play Love and Petrol at the JB Priestley Theatre from until Saturday, is an unexpected laugh. I must admit that, as a 1 in 12 member, I didn't expect the dancing, the quirky Bollywood twist on pop and punk music, the laughter.
The play, written by Alice Nutter, is well scripted and funny. There are moments that chill and others that excite. The horror of the Baker skinheads is defused delightfully by a homoerotic critique of the macho skinhead culture. Instead of bothering with romantic dialogue, the mixed couple's relationship is sparked through dance. And the complexities of friendships under the strain of racist attack is brought to light.
Surprisingly, the play ignores the 1 in 12 club, with its rich history, acknowledging it only as 'a place to be different.' Maybe that's enough, but I think minimizing a club's achievements and downplaying successful alternative institutions is par for the course, really.
Most importantly, Love and Petrol provides a look at early 1980s Bradford and Bierley, as cultures and hearts clash with tradition and hate, hope and anxiety. In a time when Bradford Council appears to believe that better shopping and shiny new buildings will make Bradford a better place (like Leeds), an alternative view emerges in this play of Bradford as a place where people stand up for themselves and put relationships and love to the fore.
The tragedy of this play and of Bradford, is that so many people surrender themselves to conformity, simply because they cannot face talking to each other and together forging their own unique future.
Love and Petrol is playing at The Priestley Theatre in Bradford from Wednesday June 7 to Saturday June 10. Tickets are 5 quid concessions, 7 quid regular.
The play, written by Alice Nutter, is well scripted and funny. There are moments that chill and others that excite. The horror of the Baker skinheads is defused delightfully by a homoerotic critique of the macho skinhead culture. Instead of bothering with romantic dialogue, the mixed couple's relationship is sparked through dance. And the complexities of friendships under the strain of racist attack is brought to light.
Surprisingly, the play ignores the 1 in 12 club, with its rich history, acknowledging it only as 'a place to be different.' Maybe that's enough, but I think minimizing a club's achievements and downplaying successful alternative institutions is par for the course, really.
Most importantly, Love and Petrol provides a look at early 1980s Bradford and Bierley, as cultures and hearts clash with tradition and hate, hope and anxiety. In a time when Bradford Council appears to believe that better shopping and shiny new buildings will make Bradford a better place (like Leeds), an alternative view emerges in this play of Bradford as a place where people stand up for themselves and put relationships and love to the fore.
The tragedy of this play and of Bradford, is that so many people surrender themselves to conformity, simply because they cannot face talking to each other and together forging their own unique future.
Love and Petrol is playing at The Priestley Theatre in Bradford from Wednesday June 7 to Saturday June 10. Tickets are 5 quid concessions, 7 quid regular.
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Salt & Vinegar
10.06.2006 13:27
Jake