Edwardian cross-dressing toff Henry Cyril Page surely knew how to be ridiculous. He was the fifth Marquis of Anglesey, one of the wealthiest men on the planet. Be that as it may, he wasted the family fortune on sparkly gowns and ruby-encrusted shoes, transformed the house of prayer into a theater and put on plays – featuring himself – that no one needed to see.
At the point when Henry kicked the bucket at 29 years old, his shocked family endeavored to delete him from history by consuming his photographs and letters. Unexpectedly a sycophantic publication by the Daily Mail gave the document material that has now enabled him to be breathed life into back.
Step by step instructions to Win against History is Seiriol Davies’ retribution for the crackpot privileged person. This merry melodic tribute was a hit of the Edinburgh Fringe and is as of now at Bristol’s superb Wardrobe Theater as a component of a national visit.
Davies sparkles actually and allegorically in sequin dress, as both author and star of what is without a doubt the sparkliest show around the local area. Kindred entertainers Matthew Blake and Dylan Townley go along with him in idealize comic planning for a night of perpetual melodic creation. Be set up for a sarcastic and flippant execution with topical references and promotion libbing (this commentator was eyeballed and featured in one tune, The Lady with the Notebook was Quite Off-Putting).
The genuine Henry carried on with a diva-ish life of imprudence and lavishness that slid into chapter 11. As an on-screen character he was a wretched disappointment; his marriage was cold and finished in separate. He was secluded and may, in actuality, have been agitated and pitiful. “I am a narcissist… I can just frouf, ponce, imagine”, he sings.
Did Henry at last win against History (i.e. his the family who abandoned him)? Point of fact – Davies’ play is a festival of a spectacularly anarchic cross-dresser who was clearly path comparatively radical.