Lewd and Lascivious Acts (2024)

Written and directed by Danny Partington

Freddie and Paul meet in the notorious Eldorado nightclub in Berlin, the heart of Europe’s decadent and liberal culture. But as fascism begins to rise, and freedom transcends into persecution, can their love survive through hell itself?

Poster for the play 'Lewd and Lascivious Acts' by Danny Partington, featuring five actors outdoors on a grassy area with a brick structure, overcast sky.

Background

Having visited Auschwitz Birkenau in 2019, and seeing how little detail was given to the gay victims of the Nazi holocaust, Danny Partington made researching and telling this story his lockdown project. The story was based primarily on accounts found in Heinz Heger’s “The Men with the Pink Triangles”. The central characters, Freddie and Paul, were named in honour of Friedrich-Paul von Groszheim, the oldest gay survivor of the holocaust, who died on 6th January 2006 aged 99. In 1995, he was one of eight signers of a declaration given to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. that called for the "memorializing and documenting of Nazi atrocities against homosexuals and others."

After initial previews, the play won second place in Homotopia’s New Writing contest in 2023, in conjunction with the Liverpool Everyman, before an edited version went to the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival in 2024 at the Teacher’s Club.

Lewd and Lascivious Acts was nominated for the Oscar Wilde Brand New Writing Award as well as the Robert Patrick Best Ensemble Award (Casting) at the 2024 IDGTF Gala Night Awards.

“Theatrical gem”

“I rarely shed a tear, but it was hard not to”

“Powerful”

“Compelling”

“Gave a powerful voice to those who were silenced”

“Partington and his talented troupe have done us a considerable service”

A sit down with the team

Check out our sit down with James Sprague (Freddie), Evan Watkinson (Paul) and Danny Partington (writer and director) as they discuss their characters, their role in the play, what excites them about the play and much more.

A group of seven young men posing together against a black background. One is dressed in a Nazi uniform, including a hat, armband, and medals. Three are standing, three are seated or kneeling, and one is sitting on a stool barefoot with crossed arms.
Two young men on a stage with a dark background, one in a striped shirt and beige pants with hands raised, the other in a black shirt and gray pants holding a glass of wine.
A young man with short curly hair sitting on a wooden chair on a dark stage, wearing a striped short sleeve shirt and beige pants, with a serious or contemplative expression.
Two shirtless men sitting close together, holding hands, on a stage with a dark background, engaged in an intimate moment.
Four young men, two with shirts and two shirtless, sit on a stage in striped pajamas, embracing or holding each other, with serious or anxious expressions, against a black background.
A shirtless young man standing with his arms outstretched, wearing blue striped pajama pants, surrounded by four men in matching striped pajamas and one man in a dark jacket and hat, performing on a stage.
Five performers on stage, four dressed in striped pajamas and holding papers, one in a police costume, during a theater or comedy show with an audience watching.
Four young men sitting cross-legged on a stage, wearing matching striped pajamas with red badges, engaged in conversation.
Four young men dressed in matching striped pajamas sitting on a stage, engaged in a discussion.
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A Special Thanks To…