Based on the reality of Mussolini’s persecution of homosexuals, this is the story of men sentenced to five years confinement for degeneracy.
One night in 1939, Carlo, Claudio and friends are arrested in Catania. Condemned without any trial, they arrive on San Domino: a prison island solely for gay men.
For all the indignity and squalor of prison life, men previously forced to live in the shadows now have no need to hide who they are. But whatever kind of life they may be trying to build, in the background war is looming.
Actor-musicians conjure up an intimate claustrophobic world, as they interweave the poignant tale of the inmates’ struggles with a modern day visit to the island in 2013 by gay activists, eager to challenge homophobia and end Italy’s ignorance, or denial, of its fascist past.
Mike is a founder member of the multi-platinum selling vocal quartet G4, which, ten years after finishing runners-up on the first series of ITV’s The X Factor, has just announced that they will be re-uniting for One Night Only on 17th November 2014 at London’s Barbican Centre.
Mike says of San Domino, ‘It’s a real pleasure to be part of such a brilliantly-crafted new musical and to be the first person ever to play Claudio.’
San Domino inevitably contains tragedy, but has humour too, imagining from the very little evidence remaining what life would have been like on San Domino. The story, says Mike, ‘takes the audience on a journey of emotions. The music is beautiful and wonderful to sing and play. What makes the musical so special is that all of the cast are fantastic musicians and we all play instruments, so we are the live band as well as the characters. When we did a preview performance, the audience were blown away by the story, words and music, and all felt that San Domino will be hugely successful.’
Playing Franco in San Domino…….Sam Valentine
RADA graduate wins Spotlight Prize http://bit.ly/1tQHwTZ
Recommended for ages 12+ due to mild sexual content, occasional swearing and some violence
Running time is approximately 135mins.
