Beautiful Thing at 25 – Neil Baker talks to Jonathan Harvey

Beautiful Thing is available to rent, buy and stream on All 4.

This interview was recorded on the 6th of July 2021 and is the property of Cinerama Film Online. (Runtime: 19 minutes)

Let me start by taking you back to the summer of 1996. The Spice Girls were wannabes, Dodgy wondered whether they were ‘Good Enough‘, and Baddiel, Skinner, and the Lightning Seeds were singing about ‘Three Lions‘. Meanwhile, in cinemas, The Muppets were visiting Treasure Island, and aliens were blowing up the White House just in time for Independence Day. In politics, an IRA bomb targeted shoppers in Manchester, injuring 200. while Tony Blair’s New Labour began its march to power as it challenged John Major’s ailing Conservative government.

For LGBTQ+ communities across the UK, the fight for equality and representation continued to gain ground. However, for many LGBTQ+ people, the fear of homophobia in schools, media and employment continued to cast a devastating shadow across their lives. This was a world where LGBTQ+ role models in the media were few and far between, the tabloid press hounding anyone they thought was gay, and newspaper articles were wrapped in homophobia and cruelty. However, change was on the way, and at its heart was a new play from Jonathan Harvey titled Beautiful Thing.

Jamie: It’s my mum’s. The Body Shop. Peppermint foot lotion… soothes your feet… Lay down, and I’ll rub it into your back if you want.

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