--- title: "The BBC's First Homosexual | Assembly Festival" meta: "og:description": "In 1954, the BBC made its first-ever documentary about male homosexuality. At the time, the topic was so taboo that the finished radio programme was promptly banned. It sat on the shelves for three years until a heavily edited version was broadcast in 1957. Then it was lost. All that survived was a forgotten transcript of the original recording, remarkably rediscovered after seventy years. With special agreement from the BBC, it is brought to life by award-winning writer Stephen M Hornby in a newly expanded dramatisation, directed by award-winning director Oli Hurst." "og:title": "The BBC's First Homosexual" "twitter:description": "In 1954, the BBC made its first-ever documentary about male homosexuality. At the time, the topic was so taboo that the finished radio programme was promptly banned. It sat on the shelves for three years until a heavily edited version was broadcast in 1957. Then it was lost. All that survived was a forgotten transcript of the original recording, remarkably rediscovered after seventy years. With special agreement from the BBC, it is brought to life by award-winning writer Stephen M Hornby in a newly expanded dramatisation, directed by award-winning director Oli Hurst." "twitter:title": "The BBC's First Homosexual" description: "In 1954, the BBC made its first-ever documentary about male homosexuality. At the time, the topic was so taboo that the finished radio programme was promptly banned. It sat on the shelves for three years until a heavily edited version was broadcast in 1957. Then it was lost. All that survived was a forgotten transcript of the original recording, remarkably rediscovered after seventy years. With special agreement from the BBC, it is brought to life by award-winning writer Stephen M Hornby in a newly expanded dramatisation, directed by award-winning director Oli Hurst." --- # The BBC's First Homosexual [**← **Back to What's On](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on) [ ![The BBC's First Homosexual](https://assemblyfestival.com/_vercel/image?url=https:%2F%2Fassemblyfestival.pazaz.studio%2Fassets%2F688a8ea4-0c8f-499d-b61c-5b3a9ebb1ef2?width=360%26height=360%26format=webp&w=1536&q=100) # The BBC's First Homosexual In 1954, the BBC made its first ever documentary about male homosexuality. At the time, the topic was so taboo that when production on the radio programme was finished, it was promptly banned. It sat on the shelves for three years until a heavily edited version was finally broadcast. A forgotten transcript survived, recently rediscovered after more than seventy years, along with papers showing the fascinating battle over its production. With special agreement from the BBC, these historic documents have now been brought to life on stage in a remarkable production described as "Exceptional" (British Theatre Guide), "Theatre Perfection" (Brighton Source), "Powerful" (London Theatre Reviews) and "Revelatory" (Irish Times). Following a sell-out national tour for LGBT+ History Month in England, which received five-star reviews for its moving performances full of humanity and humour, the play toured in Dublin for the Wilde Stages Festival where it won this year's Best Writing Award. 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