Shutters: A Lesbian Rock Opera – An exhilarating, heartfelt show about love, history, and limitation

Omnibus Theatre

A Review by Ella Rowdon

What IS a Lesbian Rock Opera?

Multiple characters repeatedly ask each other this question, mirroring our initial intrigue as an audience – what will this show be? A tragic tale of heartbreak? A joyful celebration of love and lesbianism? An absurdist play dosed in comedy? A punk-rock political piece advocating for LGBTQ+ rights?

As it turns out, it is all of the above. And much more.

Presented by the Vindicate Company and performed at the Omnibus Theatre this week as part of the 96 Festival, (London's only queer art's festival under one roof), Shutters is an exhilarating, and heartfelt show about love, history, and limitation. We follow Saving Liz (Morag Sims), brash and witty British Punk-Rocker, as she falls in and out of love with music and women, fragmenting into different parts of herself to accommodate the expectations and limitations imposed upon her. Sims is fantastic in this role, naturalistically capturing Liz's swagger as well as her vulnerability.

Produced by Sarah Lawrie from the Vindicate Company and Directed by Tom Latter, Shutters is a show that transcends limitations of time and space. With a consistent backdrop of some white shutters for which the show is named, a piano and an array of eccentric costumes (set and costume design by May Lindes) the show feels immediate and present whilst simultaneously delving in and out of a timeline stretching from the 1940s to the 2010’s, creating a story that follows characters through pivotal moments in their lives. By the end of the show, the audience feels as if we have travelled with these people, of whom we know intimately. The entire cast are electric - Jules Melvin is captivating as bold and outspoken Katharine Hepburn, and Sarah Lawrie's depiction of love interest Maggie is comic genius.

Born from brilliantly creative mind of writer Rena Brannan, she explains that Shutters was written for her younger self, ‘because I wish a show like this had existed when I was younger. Also, queer people, especially lesbians, deserve a story.’

The characters, therefore, become more than mere fictitious beings whom we meet and then leave behind once we walk out of the theatre. They represent the people that were not embodied in the art or media we consumed throughout many of our childhoods, the people we wish we had known or watched back then, to relate to – to be inspired by. Someone within whom you could see yourself.

Quoting from the show directly,

History hurts - your history, my history and their history.

Shutters gives voice to this, re-envisioning history through a queer eye, and celebrating and empowering past, present and future queer love through this lens.

The music in the show is full of heart; the musical arrangement by Faith Taylor and Philip Voyzey paired with Brannan’s vibrant lyrics informs and enhances each scene, and occasionally it was easy to forget that we were not in the presence of real celebrity musicians at a concert; the atmosphere felt electric and exhilarating, as one feels often at a live music gig. The show’s opening song lyrics immediately invites everybody into the queer space -;

I am a Lesbian.

You are a Lesbian.

We are a Lesbian.

Everything that loves itself is a lesbian.

What is arguably most successful and thought-provoking about Shutters is in its exploration of a generational struggle with lesbianism, queerness, and acceptance; it explores the nuances, shifts and consistencies in the barriers lesbians and queer people encounter/ed. The show ultimately questions how the people we admired and related to in our past inform our freedoms and identities today.

Did we search for them? Did we recognise them?

How do we honour the people in our history? How much did they influence the lesbian and wider LGBTQ+ community?

And how do we continue to inspire and influence the current and future generations?

It seems to me that Shutters may be one of the signposts, helping to guide our way.

Shutters: A Lesbian Rock Opera is on at the Omnibus Theatre until Sunday 25th of June 2023