The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs is a great name for a show, but what’s it all about? Iman Qureshi’s play – which debuted at the Soho Theatre back in 2022 and is now playing at the Kiln Theatre – tells the story of the UK’s only lesbian choir as they vie for a coveted place to perform at Pride. It starts off as something rather charming and wholesome – an enjoyable underdog story as they prepare for their audition – but it becomes somewhat more serious after the interval, turning into an exploration of issues including gender identity and transphobia.
The play is a success thanks to the quality of the writing and the excellent acting. There’s a naturalistic flair to Qureshi’s writing which renders each character believable and relatable – they all have their talents, their share of flaws, and we bought into each and every one of them. It’s an ensemble piece and each actor is individually strong.
The choir comprises of Connie (Shuna Snow) who is the OWL – older, wiser lesbian – and the choir’s conductor; Ana (Georgie Henley) and Lori (Leah Harvey) who are an interracial couple with differing backgrounds and perspectives; Fi (Liz Carr) who is a wheelchair user and her potential love interest Bridget (Mariah Louca) who is a trans woman; Ellie (Fanta Barrie), the youngest of the choir who is exploring her identity; and Dina (Serena Manteghi), who is married in a heterosexual relationship but is questioning her sexuality. Completing the cast is Zak Ghazi-Torbati, who plays all the male roles, and often brings some lighthearted comic relief.
We haven’t yet mentioned the music, which is great, although we thought there would be more songs (this is a show about a choir after all). The songs we do hear are genuinely excellent, though: the cast has many technically proficient singers, and there are some inspired arrangements and mashups which are often quite amusing.
We did have a couple of minor qualms with the show, however. We’re all here for plays that make political points – indeed the best art generally does – but we’re not quite such huge fans of characters explicitly and directly setting out their arguments; we prefer a little more subtlety and nuance. For most of the play the writing feels naturalistic, but there’s a scene in act two which sees the characters spelling out where they stand on certain issues, which feels a little forced and detracts slightly from the (very valid) points being landed. We also thought the play spent a little long trying to neatly tie up each and every loose end – if 10 minutes had been trimmed from the final scenes we’d have been happier.
These are minor issues however and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening with The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs – it tells a compelling tale with warmth and humour, it’s full of thought-provoking conversations and there are some great musical moments. We’re sure it’s no coincidence that the run has been timed to coincide with Pride in London – if you’re looking for a Pride-related activity over the coming weeks this comes highly recommended.
GAY TIMES gives The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs – 4/5
More information can be found here.
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