Award-winning queer monologue from Canada at Buxton Fringe

outside, in the laneway, under the stars is an autobiographical monologue in two parts that will be presented at the Buxton Fringe for four performances (two performances of each part) during the first four days of the Fringe, at the Green Man Gallery from 3 to 6 July.

outside, in the laneway, under the starsuses a mélange of traditional storytelling, spoken word poetry, and theatrical monologue to tell Sweet’s story of growing up as a queer kid in a small Ontario town in the 1970s.

In the face of relentless bullying, and in the absence of any knowledge of what ‘those people’ (i.e., queer folk) were all about, he took refuge in theatre as ‘the alternative to real life’, and an escape from the horrors of the unfolding AIDS crisis.

The show offers a comic and poignant take on childhood ‘otherness’, an honest evocation of the ongoing effects of bullying throughout a person’s life, and an intimate portrait of a queer survivor.

In a review (of Part 1 of the show) for Binge Fringe at the 2023 Prague Fringe, Sarah Kher-Bek wrote: ‘It is not often we are offered such an intimate glimpse into an artist’s personal journey.

'Sweet is truly a mosaic of all that he has encountered and he has framed this mosaic for the world to see, offering the opportunity to gain just a little bit more valuable understanding.’

The show is presented in two ‘parts’, but they are independent of one another and can be enjoyed separately.

As Sweet says right at the start, ‘This is a show that, despite its length, has no climax.’ Part 1 (which deals more with Sweet’s 1970s childhood) will be presented on 3 July at 8pm and 4 July at 2pm (which means you can vote either before or after seeing the show!); while Part 2 (focusing on his early adulthood in the 1980s) is on 5 July at 2 pm and 6 July at noon.

Tickets are available at www.thegreenmangallery.com.

outside, in the laneway, under the stars premiered at the Brighton Fringe in 2023, and went on to the Prague Fringe (where John is a three-time Prague Fringe Award nominee) and the On the Edge Fringe (North Bay, Canada), where it won the award for Outstanding Original Work.

Before arriving in Buxton, the show is being presented at Fringe Theatrefest in Barnstaple, and it can also be seen at the Bedford Fringe later in July.

John's website is www.johnarthursweet.online and his Twitter is @HardTimes2023.