Cruise your way HOME

Remember Covid? That pesky pandemic hit the arts hard but we bounced back pretty quickly, with shows reopening and even some new shows opening. The first new play to premiere in the West End when theatres reopened in May 2021 was Cruise.

Whilst opening in the middle of a pandemic was risky, it paid off: Cruise won critical acclaim and a coveted Olivier Award nomination for Best New Play – and a feature film is in development!

Now, the play is set to have its regional premiere in Manchester, which is fitting because Manchester is, arguably, the gayest city in the UK, but I guess I’m biased…

February 29, 1988. Soho, London. Cruise is the true story of what should have been Michael Spencer’s last night on Earth. When Michael is diagnosed with HIV in 1984, he’s told he’ll have four years to live – at most. So, with the clock ticking, he and his partner, Dave, decided to sell their house, flog the car, spend everything they have and party like it’s the last days of Rome. When Dave dies two years later, Michael doubles down on his hedonistic ways, spending what little he has left and drown- ing himself in drink and drugs.

On the last night of his four-year countdown – February 29 1988 – Michael decides to go out with a bang. He puts on his favourite jacket, heads for Soho, and embarks on a long night of farewells. He says his goodbyes to friends, enemies and strangers; old haunts, dive bars, cafes, clubs and pubs; his brothers, sisters, allies and exes. He dances, sings, and says yes to everything and everyone. Then, with all his affairs taken care of, Michael promptly… survives. Michael got lucky, and he goes on to live to a ripe old age. Michael has been given the gift of life, but what kind of life can he now live?

Inspired by a true story writer Jack Holden was told while volunteering for Switchboard, the LGBTQ+ listening and advice phone line, Cruise brings vividly to life 1980s Soho in a kaleidoscopic musical celebration of queer culture with an uplifting soundtrack.

Holden explains, “It was a story of a man called Michael who moved to Soho in the 1980s, found himself, found his tribe, fell in love, and then, in 1984, was diagnosed with HIV. At the time, with no effective medication available, it was a death sentence. So, Michael and his partner decided to sell their flat, sell the car, and spend all their money on drinking and dancing their way to the end of their lives.”

Holden, doubling as a performer for Cruise, continues, “In the burgeoning, seedy, kaleidoscopic Soho of the time, there were plenty of opportunities for hedonism… The play tells Michael’s story while bringing to life a lost Soho through music, dance and about 30 different characters – all of which are played by me!”

“I’m thrilled to be bringing Michael and the kaleidoscopic characters of Cruise back to life! I get to play a whole host of mad, broken, funny, beautiful, musical creatures. It’s an exhausting, but brilliantly fun show to perform. Audiences will laugh, cry, gasp, and probably try to sing along to the odd 80s floor-filler.”

Holden and composer John Patrick Elliott stated, “We’re so excited to bring Cruise to HOME Manchester for a limited run this Summer! In 2021, we reopened the West End with a bang, returning for another sell-out run in Summer 2022. Audiences were in desperate need of a release – a reason to come together, to laugh, to cry and to have a little dance – and Cruise gave them just that. HOME is the perfect next stop for our loud, proud, hilarious and heartbreaking show. We can’t wait to get back on stage, make one hell of a noise, and take Manchester back to the 1980s.”

“The script is almost exactly the same but, as we’re moving from the old West End playhouses to the cutting-edge HOME Theatre for this run, the show will be bigger, brighter, louder and prouder. It’s a big space to fill with just me and John onstage… but I think we’re up to the challenge!” said Holden.

On the queer content of the play, Holden said, “Cruise is about a serious and painful time in LGBT history, but it’s also a celebration of life and of the madness and excitement of Soho in the 1980s. The action of the play takes place from 1980 to 1989, and we mark the passage of time with music from the era – from disco, through synth-pop, via Chicago House, right into Acid House and Rave. It’s a thrilling, uplifting, foot-stomping evening at the theatre.

“My performance as the Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s most vulgar drag queen, Jackie Shit. I had been dying to explore my inner drag persona, so I really relish getting to that part of the show every night. We also perform an all-action homage to 1986’s box office smash hit, Top Gun, which is a super fun part to do.”

Holden thinks that the play is topical and timely not only because of current queer issues but also in the aftermath of the pandemic (which some of us might rather forget). He explained, “It’s (the Covid pandemic) something I touch on in the play: how different the institutional responses were to HIV and Covid. The speed at which an effective Covid vaccine was concocted was nothing short of a miracle.”

Delving further, Holden adds, “It’s deeply sad that such determination and money wasn’t put into finding an HIV treatment in its early days. What’s also interesting is how people have become familiar with terms that gay men have always had to know: viral load, incubation period, positive, and negative. In the long-term, I think it will help the wider public in their understanding of HIV.”

Holden hopes audiences love the play as much as he does.  “This play will always be incredibly important to me – my debut as a writer, the first new play to reopen the West End after lockdown, nominated for an Olivier, and, above all, telling a story from the heart of my community. I don’t necessarily think the play has a ‘message’ as such. It’s more of a snapshot of real life (with generous lashings of imagination), which hopefully inspires courage, defiance, self-expression and the bravery to love. I never set out to write a message play – but if people take something from Cruise, if they are moved in any way, that makes me very happy.”

“This is our third run of the show and every time it gets better and better! The show is an ode to a lost generation of gay men, a celebration of all things House Music, and a love letter to 1980s Soho – with all its heady highs and emotional lows. I promise you’ll leave the theatre wanting to go out dancing! So come and watch us from the 20th July to the 12th August at HOME Manchester.”

Cruise runs at HOME (Theatre 1) from July 20 to August 12 2023.