TV Review- Lost Boys and Fairies

 

Adoption is a wonderful thing yet could also be an awkward topic to get right in a drama, even more so to make it interesting enough for a viewer. Lost Boys and Fairies reaches to fresh territory being a series about a gay couple who decide to adopt. Before watching I wasn’t sure how this would fit together but it turns out to be extraordinarily well. Written from experience by Daf James the three-part series, now on iPlayer, skilfully mixes a story about growing up (and not just the kids), exclusion and a sense of place into a trio of engaging episodes. It delights, intrigues and sometimes shocks and I’m not just talking about the language. While it sometimes does play into the trope of LGBTQIA drama tending to be about tragedy it weaves so much more into its message and is presented with such care and in such a vivid manner (musical numbers as well, of course) that it is irresistible. Its been called a coming of middle age story and I’ll go with that.

 

Gabriel and Andy have been together eight years despite their very different personalities. As various flashbacks inform; Gabriel has had a difficult childhood and a self-indulgent adulthood veering through drug and alcohol problems to emerge the other side in their stable relationship. Yet as becomes apparent it is Andy who is diligent, hardworking, and endlessly supportive. He has a job as an accountant (which he introduces apologetically to the social worker) while Gabe earns money as a performance artist (he makes it quite clear he is not a drag artist though does perform in elaborate dresses) at the Neverland club, the place that enticed him back to Wales after years away.  There’s a joke early on about which of them would be mother or father, the truth being that Andy is both and the more the process develops the more Gabe struggles with his commitment to it while the more Andy enthuses about parenthood

The couple' are guided in their adoption journey by understanding, plain speaking but very supporting social worker Jackie. While the emphasis is on realism and presenting as accurate an account of the process as drama will allow without getting dull, the backstories are presented graphically with fantastical overtones not least the appearance of the Devil in young Gabe’s bedroom, a visual that would be at home in any high budget fantasy show. As the couple move through the process it exposes surprises and issues between the two of them and by the end of part one Gabe and Andy felt like people I’d known for ages, a testament to both the writing and the performances.

The depiction of the adoption process makes it seem initially a form filling exercise but subtly it draws prospective parents towards the realisation of what they will take on. A form that lists characteristics seems incredibly forensic in a manner that could be clinical yet opens their minds to consider what they can cope with. The drama makes a real effort to show that adoption always considers the child above all and that it is a positive thing.  An amusing sequence shows an early meet where various would-be adoptees mingle with potential candidates and it’s not clear which group is the more mature!

Slowly- despite the fact he doesn’t quite meet what they asked for on the forms- the couple start to bond with Jake, a feisty seven-year-old who has previously been labelled “feral.” As Jake is placed with them for increasingly longer periods Andy becomes the more involved while Gabriel is increasingly feeling left out. In many ways it’s a repeat of the couples’ own relationship which relies on Andy’s practicality. Material like this though makes you realise how comparatively spartan insights are in some dramas. A lot of other writers would pull the couple apart due to the differences or else make the kid too wild or too sweet but the way this is balanced- and over a comparatively short running time- is impeccable.

There’s a parallel too in the story of Gabe and his own father which may explain why the former cannot show as much warmth towards the kid. Even this relationship is handled subtly, his proud father clearly having taken strides to accept his son’s lifestyle which is so removed from what he knows. Yet there is also a warmth between them, a shared grief for Gabe’s mother who died when he was a child. I was surprised at how well this is depicted.  Gabe as a character is a fascinating contradiction at times, not always easy to like or even understand. His epiphany comes not from his domestic situation, but from another performer at the club, the much younger, sharp tongued Celyn, whose outlook is so different that Gabe begins to realise he has to finally grow up.

There are also narrative threads about language, about what should and shouldn’t be said especially regarding the Welsh language. The writing draws parallels between the isolation of Welsh speakers being similar to that of the LGBTQTIA community. Thus portions of the dialogue are spoken in Welsh with subtitles for the rest of us and that seems wholly correct, making you realise how infrequently we hear this tongue on mainstream tv even when dramas are set in Wales.

I mentioned musical scenes though these are confined to the club though often in tandem with other scenes we’re watching. It is Big Drama with capitals and some may find it too much at times though the real rug pull is yet to come. Episode two ends with an incident that is such a terrible random event that it made me actually say “No!” out loud

Part three then is different and it is true, very much designed to move yet ultimately inspire the viewer. It can be harrowing at times, anchored by stark, honest performances all round. Moving through the stages of grief the narrative keeps a balance between our unrealistic expectations for some miraculous happy ending while at the same time slowly drawing Gabe from the darkest place back into the light. Suitably the episode is shorn of the glamour and music of the first two parts; even when Gabe’s friends from Neverland arrive for the funeral they are dressed elaborately in goth black. When there is a song, it’s a sombre rendition of `Mad World`. None of this would work of course had we not been so immersed in the couple’s life in the previous episodes.

The cast are tremendous with Sion Daniel Young a tour de force who should surely be up for awards for this performance as Gabriel essaying pretty much every possible emotion along the way. The chemistry with Fra Free’s Andy is terrific with the latter so good as Gabe’s anchor. There’s a marvellous turn from Elisabeth Berrington as Jackie the social worker who takes the boys through the adoption process with realism and humour. Supporting cast includes William Thomas bringing gravitas as Gabe’s father Emrys, Arwel Griffyd as the supportive Berwyn who clearly has a story of his own only hinted at here though conveyed by the actor's demeanour.  Maria Doyle Connolly is funny as Andy's no nonsense mother Sandra, Leo Harris shows considerable assurance as Jake and Shaheen Jafargholi is striking as the prematurely bitter Ceryn.

This is a slice of powerful drama that shines a light on a number of topics while being an involving drama. Not for everyone perhaps but then again why not? It's a human story the covers so much ground and that is an achievement. 

Lost Boys and Fairies is on iPlayer now.