Friday 26 June 2026 1:09 pm
| Updated:
Friday 26 June 2026 1:21 pm
The Pride musical is playing at the National Theatre
Pride musical at the National Theatre review: ★★★★Could there be a story more ready-made for a musical than the tale of the unlikely partnership between the gays and the Welsh miners? Based on the true, incredible tale of the miner strikes of 1984 and 1985, and following the brilliant 2014 film of the same name by Matthew Warchus, that director now develops his idea for the National Theatre, bringing a new musical that’s surely got West End transfer written all over its protest placards.When these two communities – the Welsh valleys and the queer urbanites of London – come together they pop so brightly you almost need sunglasses. There is charismatic LGBTQ campaigner Mark, brought to effervescent life by Jhon Lumsden, who leads the pack as they form Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, a protest group who standing arm-in-arm with the miners on the picket line. Not all the men have Mark’s confidence streak: who could forget Bromley, whose coming-of-age journey will stir memories for anyone who faced adversity when they came out, and who evokes the sensitivity of the men who felt less natural making a stand but nonetheless showed up on principle. Gillian Elisa’s hilarious, courageous Gwen from the Welsh mining community is the ultimate ally. She is a member of the Women’s Support Group and acts as glue between the two communities in the formative meetings when the two ostracised communities work out how they can help one another. She’s one of an expertly sketched cast of miners who are as vividly, thoughtfully realised as the LGBTQ cohort.Pride musical: audience lets out huge, communal sobWarchus draws on these rich characters through comedic skits and song. Elderly Gwen’s slow march to the telephone to pick up a call from the LGBTQ group is a perfectly sensitive, hilarious portrait of old age, while the music, by composer Christopher Nightingale, Josh Cohen and DJ Walde is catchy and engaging. Gay Induction, Solidarity and You Might As Well Live are some of the ear worms; although the best of the lot is Bloody Good Night Out, which illustrates a hilarious scene in which the gays take the Welsh minors to a gay club. “Watersports hasn’t got a thing to do with swimming” notes one of the old dears. Light Perpetual is one of a couple of tear-jerking homages to those lost during the AIDS crisis. Bunny Christie’s set design featuring barriers at protests, rainbow lighting, disco balls and video projections of newspaper clippings, emulates the grassroots, DIY nature of the protests.Programme material markets Pride as “a joy-filled new musical based on an incredible story.” While the idea of joyous queer storytelling is a good one (darkness defined the formative ‘80s AIDS-tinged plays like Angels in America and The Normal Heart) the buoyancy of the first act means the grit and more difficult parts of the story are occasionally glossed over, the script sometimes breezing past parts to do with homophobia and familial relationships, areas where we really should linger. The second, though, is a different show: it hits the feels from the get-go, and – true to its word – never mining misery to rouse emotion. Offering gentle reportage of the minors and the gays standing together, arm in arm on the picket line, there was barely a dry eye in the room. I’ve never felt such a communal sob.Pride runs at the National Theatre until 12 September; nationaltheatre.org.uk
