It's the summer of 1967 and the Sexual Offences Act has just decriminalized consensual gay sex in private between two men over twenty-one. Percy Wright and his friend Les Baker have both taken temporary jobs teaching English as a foreign language in London during their long summer break from teaching at a rural boarding school near Oxford. Percy is keen to soak up some theatre, music, and general culture, whilst Les is also keen to experience the varied gay social scene. When Les picks up a man called Phil at the box office of the Albert Hall when he goes to buy tickets to a Promenade Concert, Percy inadvertently gets thrown together with Adrian Framlingham, Phil’s friend. Adrian is all the things Percy likes in a man -- funny, kind and steady. When Les gets hurt, Percy turns to Adrian for support, but as the end of the summer looms it seems as if their affair will come to a natural end. What will happen when Percy goes back to his everyday life as a house-master? Will he and Adrian stay in touch? Does he even want a long-distance relationship when arranging to meet someone for sex is still illegal, even if the act itself is not? Trigger warning: A secondary character suffers an off-screen sexual assault.

Eight Acts

He could hear Adrian pouring water from the kettle into the teapot and the clink and clatter of him getting mugs and putting them on the table. He opened his eyes again and Adrian was looking at him. He stared back, wide-eyed.


He could hear the low voice of Bev behind him but he couldn’t hear Les’ answers.


“Put the radio on,” he said to Adrian, after a moment. “The walls are very thin.” He wanted to give Les as much privacy as possible.


Adrian nodded and turned to the radio on the windowsill over the sink. The quiet, cheerfully inappropriate strains of “Puppet on a String” filled the room.


Percy drew a breath and pulled himself together. He stepped over to the table and lifted the lid of the teapot to peer in. “Is it brewed?” he said.


“Should be.” Adrian took his hand as he replaced the tea cosy. “Come here a minute, though.” He tugged, gently.


Percy resisted very briefly and then stepped closer.


Chapter 14