Dumbledore is so Gay by Robert Holtom. Southwark Playhouse, the Little 77 Newington Causeway, London SE1 to 23rd September 2023.

5*****: William Russell.

Heart warming, hilarious and life affirming last seen Holtom’s play takes us through the life of Harry Potter addict Jack (Alex Britt), a Hufflepuff, his friend Gemma (Charlotte Dowding) and Ollie (Martin Sarras), the love of his life in three stages. Being a Potter boy he has the power to rerun time since he has Hermione’s Time Turner and, dissatisfied with the way things have , does so three times until the realisation hits home that life is for living as best you can, his two best friends tell him to stop, and anyway Dumbledore really is dead. Dumbledore, of course, was gay. J K Rowling comes in for a fair amount of scorn - you might say - during the course of this 65 minute entertainment which lasts exactly the right length of time. It helps to know your Potter or possibly your Rowling, but even if you are less than well acquainted what the play has to say comes across loud and clear. Britt makes a delightfully insecure narrator, Martin Sarral as Ollie and numerous others, but as Ollie in particular, is a worthy object of desire, and as best friend and possible girlfriend, among others, Charlotte Dowding has a stunning scene in which she has toplay two different characters having a conversation. Director Tom Wright has kept things running at speed – nobody seems to stand still ever. One learns quite a lot about life in Heaven as well as about being bullied at school, getting erections at an awkward time when one is a schoolboy, how to avoid being picked upon as well as how to handle parents who seem to have no idea what is going on in your life and when told don’t quite grasp the situation – and, along the way, quite a lot about the Harry Potter tales.

Cast

Jack – Alex Britt

Gemma, Sally, Madame Dubois & more – Charlotte Dowding;

Ollie, Martin & more – Martin Sarral.

Creatives

Director – Tom Wright

Set & Costume Designer – Natalie Johnson

Lighting Designer – Rory Beaton

Composer & Sound Designer – Peter Wilson

Movement Director – Richard Nanyonjo

Intimacy Director – Robbie Taylor Hunt

Dramaturg – Tom Wright

Production photograph – David Johnson.