Lavender Menace was a LGBT bookshop in Edinburgh, open during the 80’s and 90’s. It was a safe place for the local LGBT community and also staged many plays during its time. It is therefore appropriate to celebrate the shop with a play performed in the Garden Theatre at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Love Song to Lavender Menace is written by James Ley who also stars in the production alongside Matthew McVarish. There is also a cameo from American writer Garth Greenwell, who raises many laughs by playing himself.  The production is an LGBT Youth Cultural Commission and has had previous readings at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow and the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.

The story takes a comedic look at the book store, the people who work in it and the people who go there. It is a celebration of radical literature and the importance of telling new and exciting stories by people who tend to be overlooked or discriminated against. The different voices and characters in the production feel authentic and genuine. This could be down to extensive research, but also due to the talents of the writer James Ley and director Ros Phillips. The narrative follows the lives and relationship of David and Paul. We watch them grow and develop and see them as they find a sense of community in the Lavender Menace.

As the performance is delivered script in hand it does feel a little rough around the edges. This does add to the comedy and charm of the show and doesn’t distract from the story or the important themes that are tackled in the play. As Love Song to Lavender Menace is also an Edinburgh International Book Festival commission it is hoped the text will be published so it can be experienced multiple times. It is an important story in Edinburgh’s rich literary history and deserves as wide an audience as possible.

Due to the length of the show there is unfortunately only ten minutes available at the end for questions and answers. James Ley is joined on the stage by Garth Greenwell who talks about LGBT writing the world over and how important it is for people to read new and original stories by writers from marginalised backgrounds and this in turn underlines the importance of Love Song to Lavender Menace.