REVIEW: 1972: The Future of Sex, Salisbury Playhouse

Devised and written by a team of talented dramatists from The Wardrobe Ensemble, this lively, joyful, yet thought-provoking new musical captures perfectly the thrusting atmosphere of student life in 1972.

David Cassidy posters adorn teenage girls’ bedroom walls, DH Lawrence novels are being studied voraciously, and Ziggy Stardust is on TV’s Top Of The Pops.

The contraceptive pill is freely available, the new musical Hair! is breaking theatre taboos by featuring naked actors, and Sociology lecturers are lusting after mini-skirted, long-haired students.

Creatively directed by Tom Brennan and Jesse Jones, featuring original music and lyrics by Tom Crossley-Thorne, this terrific 7-piece cast deliver sharp storytelling, convincingly psychedelic dancing, and poignant character development.

Clever and revealing commentary by the cast through stage-side mics shows the characters’ thoughts, feelings and confusions.

Updating the story through the following forty-plus years is a brilliant device, showing a young lesbian ending up with a husband and two kids (one named Ziggy), an immature rugby player turning into an adult street thug, and unsure teenage Anthony – who calls himself Anton – still confused about his sexual preferences.

Costumes are convincing, live guitar and sax effective, and the big pink space hopper very dramatic. But the finale’s swimming costumes are a limp cop-out.

If you lived through that ground-breaking year 1972, you’ll probably recognise it all. If you didn’t, you won’t quite believe it really happened.

Brendan McCusker