In an extraordinary 100-minute performance centred around London’s gay scene, Fraser Morrison plays 20 plus characters without missing a beat. This intergenerational monologue celebrating the city’s queer nightlife and paying tribute to a generation lost to HIV/AIDS spans four decades. It is the work of Jack Holden, who was inspired by a phone call he received when he volunteered for an LGBTQIA+ helpline. That call was a guy in his 50s who spoke about moving to Soho as a young man, discovering and falling in love with the rich gay scene there.
The piece starts with a naïve 22-year-old named Jack, out of his depth, but volunteering for a support line. Jack represents the author of CRUISE, who also performed the role when it opened in London’s West End in May 2021. In the play, Jack is trained, but still nothing prepares him for the calls he is suddenly receiving.
There is the CEO of a bank who declares themselves a lesbian, the man who says he is straight but just had sex with a fella and doesn’t know what to do next. Also, the bloke who appears to be crying and whimpering, only to have an orgasm, and the chap who has Jack listen while he cuts himself. At times, Jack shares the space with an older helpline operator named Kevin, who grew up in the ‘80s. Jack initially thinks Kevin is mocking him. And then he takes a long call that changes his life.
It is from Michael, the person I referenced earlier (in his 50s), who wants to speak with someone older. But egged on by Jack, he launches into a detailed description of what he discovered, the people he met and the interactions he had. This all took place in the ‘80s, after he moved from a small town to the big smoke at the age of 18. In short, it is eye-opening, to say the least.
Among those with whom he formed relationships was Lady Lennox, an elderly socialite draped in fur whom he lived with for one year and 18 days. To the strains of Gloria Gaynor, Fat Sandy was a New York queen who put Michael up in Bloomsbury and introduced him to the Soho scene. And then Michael went cruising. At a club, he was introduced to the music savvy DJ Fingers. He survived the battling Nymphs, Jacob and Jason, a pair of vibrant, argumentative twinks. By then Jack had lived in and around Soho for two and half years and knew it better than the one-horse town he grew up in.
And that is when he came across a big, hairy hunk, who proudly introduced himself as Slutty Dave. He was a bit older than Jack, high energy and sexually liberated. The pair moved in together and formed a deep, transformative, loving relationship. Then, on 29th February 1984, both were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given a life expectancy of no more than four years. But rather than retreating in despair, they chose to pursue a hedonistic, defiant path.
Before the play ends, it circles back to Jack’s call taker colleague Kevin, who, notwithstanding the pain, also managed to live through the ‘80s. Jack is now 30. We’re at the start of another debilitating virus, COVID-19 and with it the first lockdown … and Jack’s attitude to Kevin has changed.
CRUISE has been brilliantly conceived, written and executed, so hat’s off to Jack Holden for his insights. What Fraser Morrison turns on is scintillating and highly energetic. His is undoubtedly one of the greatest monologues I have seen. Reflective, feisty, formidable, Morrison tackles the material with poise, polish and precision. He is equally at home playing a tentative Jack or a freewheeling Michael. He readily switches between the couple of dozen personas he assumes in a heartbeat.
With his athletic body, he assumes different accents and speech patterns with aplomb. A huge nod here to accent and dialect coach Linda Nicholls-Gidley. Morrison sings so well and in tune. The songs, including Is That All There Is? and You Were Always on My Mind are among the shows many highlights. Morrison moves at distinct paces, frenzied and restrained, as his roles call for, and he dances with distinction. Movement director Jeremy Lloyd has prepared him masterfully. Morrison is a guy who can do no wrong.
Everything about this show has been well thought through. The tripartite style of staging involves no less than five separate spaces. Broadly, they represent the call centre, domesticity, bar and clubland, the washroom and the dance floor. Original set designer Chelsea Wheatley and set designer Ruby Jenkins have done an awesome job with relatively little. CRUISE wouldn’t be as potent as it is without Thomas Hicks’ highly attuned lighting design or the emotive sound design by Chelsea Wheatley. Director Sean Landis drives a sensory sensation with the skill of a virtuoso pianist.
Let me end where I started. Fraser Morrison is a rolled gold revelation who deserves the highest plaudits for what he achieves in CRUISE. Remembering so many lines is one thing, but to combine that with all the other key ingredients I have outlined, for such a long time, is a feat of theatrical excellence. See CRUISE at Theatre Works until 21st November, 2026.
Alex First
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Lord of the Flies, at Theatre Works – theatre review
- Dredge (Theatre Works) – dance review
- You’re Being Dramatic (Theatre Works) – theatre review
Alex First is the editor of The Blurb. Alex is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He also contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.
