Pride at the National Theatre

It’s Pride Month, so what better time for the opening of the National Theatre’s exciting new musical adaptation of the 2014 queer activist flick Pride. The stage musical brings the original creative team back together, with director Matthew Warchus back at the helm and the book and lyrics by screenwriter Stephen Beresford. This faithful adaptation keeps the warmth and rebellious spirit of the film (and the real events that inspired it), while adding in a banging slate of original songs.

As one of the activists tells us early in the piece, Pride is based on a true story. It’s 1984 when a group of London activists decide they’ve got something in common with the striking miners – hatred of the government. Armed with the spirit of solidarity and some fundraising buckets, they name themselves LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) and head to a small Welsh mining town with their takings. What develops from there is an unlikely but heartwarming allyship between two groups who realise they’re in the same fight.

Pride is a really incredible true story, with inherent dramatic appeal: it’s got underdog protagonists, high stakes and an odd-couple partnership. Beresford has winningly brought these elements together in a compelling and affecting narrative. Real-life characters like activists Mark Ashton and Mike Jackson are cleverly (and affectionately) synthesised from their factual counterparts, while loveable additions like the fictional Cliff and Bromley bring a lot of heart.

Added to this beautifully-told story is a brilliant streak of comedy, which makes the whole thing delightfully entertaining. Some of the best punchlines are copied verbatim from the movie, while others are gleefully built on (the Welsh ladies’ night out on the London gay club scene becomes its own brilliant song-and-dance number, complete with jokes about bondage, doms, leather and poppers).

Of the cast, Jhon Lumsden is capable as the fiery and charismatic Mark (the lead if there is one) and the rest are suitably moving and entertaining as required. But a whole extra star rating could be added for Samuel Barnett alone, as the unapologetically flamboyant Johnathan. He steals every scene he’s in with charm, pathos and seriously impressive dancing.

It helps too that his numbers are among the best of the night, including a bring-the-house-down solo and a lively tribute to disco. But those aren’t the only great tracks supplied by composers Christopher Nightingale, Josh Cohen and DJ Walde. The high-energy tunes are the most memorable, like those depicting the rebellious fundraising concert dubbed “pits and perverts”. But a lot of emotion is carried by the softer songs, such as the rousing arrangement of the classic union anthem Bread and Roses, or the moving tribute to AIDS victims.

The true-to-life denouement of the story offers both hope and tragedy, and there were plenty of stifled sniffles during the opening night performance. Beresford’s final scene sees the characters reflect on their own legacy; one hopes the surviving members of LGSM will feel this wonderful musical does justice to their incredible story.