“Ask yourself this. If there were no praise or blame – who would I be?”
Mark Farrelly’s hugely acclaimed solo play has delighted audiences across the country and now comes to the Kenton Theatre, Henley-on-Thames on February 23rd.
Naked Hope depicts the legendary Quentin Crisp at two distinct phases of his extraordinary life. Firstly in the late 1960s in his filthy Chelsea flat (“Don’t lose your nerve: after the first four years the dirt won’t get any worse”).
Here Quentin surveys a lifetime of degradation and rejection. Repeatedly beaten for being flamboyantly gay as early as the 1930s, but also ostracised simply for daring to live life on his own terms.
The second part of the play transitions the audience to New York in the 1990s. Here a much older Quentin, finally embraced by society, regales the audience with his sharply-observed, hard-earned philosophy on how to have a lifestyle: “Life will be more difficult if you try to become yourself. But avoiding this difficulty renders life meaningless. So discover who you are. And be it. Like mad!”.
Naked Hope is a glorious, truthful and uplifting celebration of a genuinely unique human being, and of the urgent necessity to be yourself. Originally produced by Seabright Productions Ltd, and directed by Linda Marlowe, who also directed The Silence of Snow.
Reviews so far have been very positive:
★★★★★ Broadway Baby “A masterclass”
★★★★ Time Out “An uncanny feat of resurrection. Farrelly’s mastery of his audience is total”
★★★★ Theatrescene.net “A sensational performance” (Review of Off-Broadway debut, 2019)
“Wonderful. Mark Farrelly channels Quentin Crisp brilliantly. It’s important to keep his voice alive!” (Boy George, October 2016)
“A great show and a terrific performance” (Peter Tatchell, January 2020)
“Saw both captivating shows. What a wonderful compelling performer you are Mark!” (Sir Matthew Bourne, August 2020)
Who Is Mark Farrelly?
Mark Farrelly is an actor and writer. He was born in Sheffield, and read English at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating with a double first-class degree.
Mark has said he was always quite reluctant to become an actor even after his first long term job, touring the USA in Hamlet. Mark continued his studies and after some time back in Sheffield has become a well known and established theatre artist.
He has made quite a name for himself portraying some of our most recognisable and sometimes controversial characters including Patrick Hamilton, Derek Jarman and Frankie Howerd’s secret lover.
Being able to write wonderful plays has meant mark has had a steady flow of great work followed by great reviews.
