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Mr Loverman was the BAFTA award-winning TV series adaptation of the book by the same name, by acclaimed author, Booker Prize winner and most recent awarded recipient of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Bernadine Evaristo. In the series British actor Lennie James took home the award for Leading actor for his role as Barrington “Barry” Walker (James) and his co-star Ariyon Bakare, who played the role of Morris, won the award for supporting actor. Mr Loverman’s success, despite a strong lineup of contenders, highlights how important it is to show stories like these, that make visible the hidden experiences of topics we are often too afraid to speak about.
If you haven’t watched the series, then this is a spoiler alert. This particular story was not what I expected it to be, for how often do we hear a word like loverman and assume that the male protagonist on the show is actually a 74-year-old Black man of Antiguan heritage, living in London, married to his wife, has two grown up daughters, a teenage grandson, but who happens to be in a secret long-term relationship with his best friend and lover, known to the family as Uncle Morris.
The series showed the complex relationship the main protagonist had with living an authentic life, one free of the trappings of past histories, where being homosexual was frowned upon. Barry is in the closet and has been for all of his life, not only to those around him, but to him, himself. His smart dress, matching one-piece suit and Fedora hat, worn to precision, accompanied by a charming personality, only masks his true identity. Beautifully captured, this was a series deserving of its awards, especially where both actors, who are not known to be gay themselves, play the roles so well, that any argument that only gay men should be cast in such parts, goes out of the window. It was Evaristo herself who said in the Radio Times, of what is often seen as a contentious casting issue, that:
“From my position as the writer of the book, I want it to go to the person who can play the part, and it’s not important whether they’re homosexual or not.”
Indeed, Lennie James and Ariyon Bakare are the perfect choice, because of what they were able to convey on camera, which far exceeded their identities. They were able to capture the pain, denial, fear and vulnerability with coming to terms with one’s sexual orientation, the difficult and often emotional process of coming out, juxtaposed with the feeling of being trapped in the closet for much of your entire life.
The unravelling of Barry’s secret strikes the family, by unearthing complex familial relationship dynamics; failed interrelationships and unresolved grievances between husband and wife, father and daughter, within the context of varying intergenerational dialogues. Indeed, with the show fluctuating from past to present, through the memories of Barry re-telling his story and that of his wife Carmel, it is a stark reminder of how far things have changed in the inclusion of LGBTQ+ communities in society.
Written by Dr Ope Lori (Founder & CEO, PILAA)
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