Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope

13 Jun 2025

Shakespeare North Playhouse

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Join Shakespeare North for an up-close encounter with the original Englishman in New York…

From a conventional upbringing to global notoriety via The Naked Civil Servant, Quentin Crispwas one of the most memorable figures of the twentieth century. Openly gay as early as the 1930s, Quentin spent decades being beaten up on London’s streets for refusing to be anything less than himself. His courage, and the philosophy that evolved from those experiences, inspire to the present day.

Naked Hope depicts Quentin at two phases of his extraordinary life: alone in his Chelsea flat in the 1960s, certain that life has passed him by, and thirty years later, performing An Evening with Quentin Crisp in New York. Packed with witty gems on everything from cleaning (“Don’t bother – after the first four years the dust won’t get any worse”) to marriage (“Is there life after marriage? The answer is no”), Naked Hope is a glorious, uplifting celebration of the urgent necessity to be your true self.

Mark Farrelly (Jarman) brings this hugely-acclaimed solo play to Shakespeare North Playhouse for an up-close encounter with the original Englishman in New York.