This week on Queerly’s Stage and Screen Podcast, Harvey talks with writer and performer Alfie Webster about his acclaimed one-man show ‘lenny.’ - a darkly funny exploration of identity, belonging, and what it means to step off the sidelines of your own life. After a sold-out run at Theatre503, this powerful solo performance is transferring to the Omnibus Theatre this September.
In this candid conversation, Alfie shares how the play developed from a “messy” draft at the Royal Court’s Introduction to Playwriting group to its current form, discusses performing multiple characters, and reflects on modern masculinity from a queer perspective.
In this episode:
Alfie describes ‘lenny.’ as a play about “being on the sidelines of your own life” and making the decision to “step off the sidelines and live authentically”
The creative partnership with director Sarah Stacey who Alfie describes as “an incredible dramaturg” who helps him “trust what’s written on the page”
How performing the show at 31 gives Alfie a different perspective than when he created it in his late twenties
The technical challenges of embodying multiple characters through physicality and accent
Alfie’s reflections on modern masculinity and the “acceptance of softness”
The formative theater experiences that inspired Alfie, from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to Bunny by Jack Thorne
About ‘lenny.’:
Lenny’s not even the main character in his own life. Dangerously close to the end of his twenties, he is still waiting for his life to begin. His best mate, Carly is in the epicentre of everything and he’s sick of always being a witness. But after waking up from a very unsettling dream with an unexpected visitor, Lenny decides to step off the sidelines. Tonight, everyone will be watching him. Tonight, he will be born into the man he’s supposed to be, and his life is really going to start… won’t it? But it’s not long before this new way of thinking begins to shift into something darker…
Tickets and Information:
‘lenny.’ runs September 16 - October 4, 2025 at the Omnibus Theatre, London.
Tickets from £10 | Age Guidance: 16+
Book now: https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/lenny/
Follow:
Instagram: @lenny_theplay
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