We are delighted to host a work-in-progress preview of Fairlight - an electropop musical about gay invisibility in tennis - on the courts of Edgbaston Archery & Lawn Tennis Society on Saturday 20th July 2024 at 6pm.

The Show

2025 marks the 160th anniversary of the first ever recorded match of lawn tennis.

The production team are celebrating this landmark historical event by exploring one of the biggest issues in the modern game - queer invisibility.

'Fairlight' sets the origin story of lawn tennis in a queer context, shining a light on the absence of any openly LGBT+ professional male players. It contrasts historic and current stories, inviting audiences to form their own interpretation of tennis's seemingly straight history.

'Fairlight' takes place on a tennis court and brings together:

• The story of the invention of lawn tennis by Harry Gem and Auguro Perera, at Perera's home 'Fairlight' in Edgbaston in the 1860s.
• Newspaper reports of prosecutions of gay men in the Victorian era.
• The laws of lawn tennis, written by Harry Gem in the 1870s.
• Demonstrations of tennis play.
• Interviews with current tennis players about the challenges faced by LGBT+ players today.
• Music based on the unmistakable sounds of the Fairlight CMI, the first commercially available sampler.

This is a 'work in progress' performance, taking place at Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Society, the oldest lawn tennis club in the world. The club house bar will be open for drinks from 5pm to 10pm.

The show will then tour grass court tournaments in the summer of 2025.

Book tickets for the showcase via Eventbrite
Visit the show's website for more information: fairlightmusical.co.uk
If you have any questions, please email: hello@fairlightmusical.co.uk