“When they did the interiors for the school chapel, they went for a rather raunchy depiction of Jesus on The Cross. I think they were going for suffering and virtue, but instead they got rugged and twink.”

Long-titled and packing a punch, Ned Blackburn’s An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo is a dramatic comedy following 18 year-old flaming homosexual Johnny navigating his final year at boarding school. Between morning chapel services and compulsory rugby training, he ambles through life with Britney Spears blasting in his ears consistently failing to adhere to the school’s rigid expectations of young men. Enter golden boy Harry, a confident, charming, rugby lad. To save time, trepidation and a tired queer-baiting narrative: Johnny and Harry shag. All the time.

This one-act play premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 to an overwhelming reception. Infusing slapstick, Lecoqian physical comedy, fast-paced multiroling and the intimate awkwardness of secretive lust, Blackburn’s original semi-autobiographical play is a reminder that amidst the campness of queer-focussed narratives, there is a heart that beats and breaks like everyone else’s.

A Britney soundtrack in the foreground and an archaic institution in the back, this piece explores what it means to break the mould, who gets hurt, and is rejection always inevitable when you’re an outsider?

Winner of Broadway Baby’s Bobby Award

Shortlisted for Binge Fringe’s Queer Performer Award

★★★★★ Binge Fringe - “Heartfelt, honest and deeply hilarious”

★★★★★ Broadway Baby - “A gem on every level”

★★★★★ Scots Gay Arts - “Faultless writing compiled with beguiling performances”

★★★★★ UK Theatre Web - “This is a gem. Funny, tragic and beautifully performed”

★★★★ The Scotsman - “A warm but playful celebration of acceptance and difference”