A Friend Of Dorothy

Bluesky

One has to go a long way back in European history to find a time before theatre was a place of refuge for LGBTQ+ people. It has served the same function in some other parts of the world with similar social taboos. As an actor, one can be anything, and outsiders, never quite sure what they’re dealing with, tend to be nervous. But the existence of this charmed space isn’t always obvious to the young. Generation after generation, it has been the task of those wjo have been through it all before – often the elderly – to guide the young to a place of safety.

There are two purported origins for the phrase ‘a friend of Dorothy’, and indeed, they may have emerged independently in different generations. The one given here is a reference to The Wizard Of Oz and its assemblage of outsider heroes. The other, older one, refers to Dorothy Parker, the celebrated wit whose New York social circle itself became a place of refuge in the 1920s. Neither means anything to young JJ (Alistair Nwachukwu), the shy teenager who turns up on the doorstep of a present day Dorothy (Miriam Margolyes) in Lee Knight’s Oscar-nominated short. He just wants to retrieve his football from her garden, but he can see that she’s lonely, so agrees to stay for a cup of tea. When she catches him looking at the plays on her bookshelf she persuades him to try reading a passage out loud, and both of them make a discovery.

Nwachukwu could himself be described by that word. He’s a stand-out talent, and brings a real delicacy to this role. JJ in out of his depth in this house, a half-formed youth surrounded by the completeness of a life well lived. Dorothy might notice his eyes lingering on the various paintings of semi-naked men which decorate the walls, but it’s pretty clear that by then, she already knows. Exactly where she fits into the rainbow is never made explicit, and the film is stronger for it. Viewers might be reminded that categories never have been clear-cut. She sees him and he sees her, and that’s what matters.

Margolyes was thrilled to have the role of Dorothy written for her, and she hams it up in places, which is disappointing in a film which would have benefited from a lighter touch. Stephen Fry, in a cameo role as a lawyer, is on good behaviour, and works very well. it’s a film about passing the torch and one all the more pertinent today, when times are getting tougher again, because it serves as a reminder that even if one’s freedom is limited, within those magical places where one can suddenly be one’s whole self, there is joy.

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