After the Act

Abseiling lesbians! Queers in classrooms! Perverts panicking parents! Thatcher's Section 28, which banned the 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools, was the landmark legislation that silenced a generation, offered a global blueprint for LGBTQ+ oppression and galvanised a movement. Billy Barrett and Ellice Stevens's After the Act is a funny, camp and unapologetically queer musical about how a moral panic gripped a nation – and a community decided to fight back. Its inspiring, often heartbreaking, stories of teachers, students and activists impacted by the legislation are accompanied by a joyously exuberant score written by Frew and inspired by the music of the 1980s. It was first produced in 2023 by the award-winning theatre and film company Breach at New Diorama Theatre, London, before performances during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and a UK tour in 2024.