Gay London Life | September '26 Edition - Magazine - Page 20
Desire,
danger and
deception
collide in
Tom at the Farm
A grieving man arrives at his late boyfriend’s
family home, only to discover they had no idea
he existed. This autumn, the internationally
acclaimed Tom at the Farm makes its London
debut at the Barbican.
Seductive, volatile and deeply unsettling, Tom at the Farm (Tom na Fazenda)
comes to the Barbican Theatre for a limited run from 13 to 17 October.
Tom travels to a remote farm to attend his boyfriend’s funeral,
expecting to share in the family’s grief. Instead, he discovers they knew
nothing about him or the relationship he shared with their son.
Surrounded by an oppressive rural landscape, Tom becomes
trapped within an increasingly dangerous web of secrecy, suspicion
and threats. The truth must remain hidden, even as suppressed desire
and simmering violence begin to break through the carefully maintained
appearance of normal family life.
Based on the play by award-winning Québécois playwright Michel
Marc Bouchard, this Brazilian production has been adapted by its leading
actor and producer, Armando Babaioff, and directed by Rodrigo Portella. It
arrives in London following a hugely successful run at the 2025 Edinburgh
Festival Fringe, where its raw physicality and unflinching exploration of
homophobia won considerable acclaim.
Mud, blood and shadows fill the stage as the farm gradually
becomes the setting for a disturbing psychological game. At its heart is a
confrontation with masculinity, shame and the brutality that can grow when
queer lives are forced into silence.
The production asks what happens when grief cannot be expressed
honestly and love must be erased to protect a family’s preferred version
of the truth. It’s heavy territory, but Tom at the Farm promises the kind of
theatre that grabs hold of its audience and refuses to let go.
Performed in Portuguese with English surtitles, the show runs
for approximately two hours without an interval. It carries an 18+ age
recommendation and includes sexual content, nudity, physical violence
and psychological violence.
With just five performances at the Barbican, this is a rare chance to
see a production that has already left audiences and critics shaken. The
Guardian called it “a staggering study of homophobia”, while Edinburgh
Festivals Magazine praised it as “edge of the seat stuff”.
Beautiful, brutal and charged with danger, Tom at the Farm looks set to
be one of the most talked-about queer theatre events of the autumn.
Tom at the Farm (Tom na Fazenda)
13–17 October 2026
Barbican Theatre, Silk Street,
London EC2Y 8DS
Tickets from £29, with £18 Young Barbican tickets available
Performed in Portuguese with English surtitles
Book at barbican.org.uk
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