Fringe Review: SANCTUARY, Ace Dome at Pleasance Dome

Photo credit: Andrew Perry

In the early 1990s, plans for an AIDs hospice are met with resistance from local townsfolk. First and foremost, they are worried that the village cows might get AIDS. Can cows even get AIDS? Sanctuary tells of this true story based in Suffolk through a tender, heart wrenching two-hander at the Ace Dome at the Pleasance.

Written beautifully by Jacob Sparrow, Sanctuary is a story of humanity and how people react to the unknown. It tells of Michael (Matthew Tennyson), a young gay man living with HIV in a small village in Suffolk, and of his life before and after his diagnosis. Tennyson is captivating as he relives the beating clubs of London and his first all-consuming love. He is opening up to a man who knows the woman running the hospice, and has just popped round and taken a seat at the kitchen table. Between the two men, an older retired unnamed man (Richard Cant), and the younger, an unlikely friendship and immediate trust is formed. 

The script is as devastating as it is touchingly funny. Building a complete picture of Michael’s life through words and the art of imagination, Sanctuary is performed with incredible gravity. Surrounding the kitchen table in the centre of the stage are four chairs, which the actors circle and move around, adding emphasis to different tales, lending weight to anger, sadness and hope that fuel the narrative. It is masterful storytelling with the pacing rushing or slowing right down, expertly maintained by the exacting Tennyson and Cant who perform with utter conviction.

Deftly woven into the mix is a younger character, to spin a narrative across three generations of gay men and the different worlds that they will grow up to live in. Poignant and gracefully told, Sanctuary reflects on the ‘90s with an echo of sadness, but also a glimmer of hope. 

Ultimately uplifting, the performance is moving and overwhelmingly human at its core. It is an ode to the people shamed during the ‘90s for their sexuality and all the grief they came to bear. But it is also a small celebration to those who were there and who supported through those times with Sparrow reminding us that not all is bleak. Sanctuary is as important as it is mesmeric and deserves all of your attention.

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Hannah Goldswain

Sanctuary plays at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe until 31 Aug, with further info here.