West End transfer for My Son’s A Queer, (But What Can You Do?)

Award-winning show My Son’s A Queer, (But What Can You Do?) will become the Turbine Theatre’s first West End transfer when it plays the Garrick Theatre this autumn.

Written and performed by Rob Madge (Les Misérables, 25th anniversary tour and O2 concert, Millennials, The Other Palace Studio) and directed by Luke Sheppard (& Juliet, Shaftesbury Theatre, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾: The Musical, West End, Menier Chocolate Factory and Leicester Curve), the production which debuted at the Thames-side venue with a sold-out season in 2021 will follow its sell-out run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe by playing a limited season at the Garrick Theatre from 21 October until 6 November 2022.

Announcing the West End transfer, Turbine Theatre’s artistic director Paul Taylor-Mills said “Exactly three years ago I took a group of my colleagues and friends on a boat along The Thames to a relatively unknown theatre space hiding beneath one of the most iconic buildings in Europe, The Battersea Power Station.

“The Turbine Theatre was born. A bold and unique space where new work could be created. I made a commitment in front of everyone that we’d have a West End transfer within a year. Both brave and naive at the same time, little did we know what was to come. I even wrote it on the walls in big pink letters to remind me. Admittedly there were two years that we won’t go into now but we’re finally able to say that The Turbine Theatre is going to take its first show to the West End.

“My Son’s A Queer, (But What Can You Do?) is the epitome of everything I dreamed The Turbine could be. A story of hope and acceptance, a celebration of life and a thrilling adventure rooted in trusting those we collaborate with. It has gone from a DM on Twitter during lockdown, to a fully produced sell out show in our theatre, to a run-a-way Edinburgh Season inside a big purple cow – many awards later, we’re at The Garrick.

“My Son’s A Queer, (But What Can You Do?) will play a limited season in the West End this autumn and we hope that this is the start of many more transfers to come!”

The winner of the 2022 WhatsOnStage Best Off-West End Production Award is described as a ‘celebration of the joy and chaos of raising a queer child’. The production features composition by Pippa Cleary, orchestration by Simon Nathan, mixing by Chris Fry, designs by Ryan Dawson Laight, projection design by George Reeve, video engineering by Neil McDowell Smith and associate sound designs by Anna Short.

Angela Thomas