News: Declan Bennet’s Boy Out The City Embarks On A Tour

Boy Out The City, a one man play by West End star Declan Bennet, is going on tour this year after a sell out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and successful week on London’s West End.

Starting at The Belgrade Theatre in Bennett’s hometown of Coventry, Boy Out The City will be performed by Bennett not only in Coventry but also the Oxford Playhouse and then in Northern Ireland at The Lyric Belfast.

Based on his own private journals, and co-created with friend and director Nancy Sullivan, the play takes the audience on a voyage of self-discovery.

After moving out of London to wait out the final months of the pandemic, Declan finds himself alone in the Oxfordshire countryside. In his isolation, Declan is forced to face the demons of his past. The audience is transported to Declan’s Catholic school days and then whisked away into a sweaty nightclub in 90s Soho before landing softly in the quaint little cottage he now calls home. It’s a raw, brutal but often funny autobiographical journey exploring themes such as toxic masculinity, homophobia and mental health.

Declan gained prominence as a member of the 1999 band Point Break before going on to perform in the West End, Broadway, and national and international tours. His television credits include Charlie Cotton in Eastenders and Jonathan in ITV detective drama The Long Call. His theatre credits includes Boy George’s Taboo, Rent, Once, Jesus Christ Superstar and more recently he played Duke in Moulin Rouge! on Broadway.

Declan says, “Taking Boy Out The City on the road is so exciting. Coventry wasn’t the easiest of places for a young gay lad in the 90’s but I’m really proud to be able to share my story with the city I grew up in. In fact, I am really proud to be sharing it with everyone – each city we’re visiting features prominently in the show, so this tour is incredibly personal for me.”

Boy Out The City will be performed by Declan from 25 March 2024 to 21 April 2024 at The Belgrade Coventry, The Oxford Playhouse and The Lyric in Belfast.