A chat with Sion Daniel Young (Gabriel)
from BBC’s Lost Boys & Fairies
Lost Boys & Fairies tells the fictional, tender, glittering story of Gabriel, a singer and artiste-extraordinaire at Cardiff’s queer club-space ‘Neverland’, his partner Andy and their journey to adoption. But Gabriel has a complex history and he will need to embark upon a journey of selfdiscovery before he can truly begin to parent 7-year old Jake.
What can you tell us about Gabriel, the character you play in Lost Boys & Fairies?
Gabriel is who we follow through the story. He's got a lot of baggage and that plays a big part in this series in terms of the decisions and life choices that he has to navigate.
When we first meet Gabriel he and his partner Andy are sorting the house out, trying to get ready for their first adoption meeting. Gabriel's journey is massive. He is trying to keep certain things at bay that eventually come to the surface and have a real effect on both his life and his partner Andy's life.
What did you think of the scripts when you first read them?
The first time I read the scripts, I genuinely thought these are some of the best things I've ever read and I know a lot of people felt similarly. Daf has a way of making the images extremely clear so that I actually feel like I've seen the show already. His clarity is unbelievable, in the stage directions you get real visuals as to what he's seeing and what he's trying to get across. It makes it really easy to get invested in the story.
Why did you want this role? What hooked you in?
The main reason was my gut feeling after reading those scripts, because sometimes you read things and they don't necessarily chime with you but this one just felt just really special. Daf and I have known each other for a long time. To know that this story he's been working on for so long has got to the point where there's a script and I could read it, it just felt like a really lovely moment. How would you describe Lost Boys & Fairies and the premise of the story? I find it quite hard to describe because – and I know this gets said a lot, but – it genuinely does feel like there's a little bit of everything in this show. Daf has a way of doing that with his writing, with his stage work as well, he seems to be able to create these like completely full worlds where every character has their own unique journey. He manages to encapsulate so much stuff in everyone's narratives. I don't know if you can summarise it in a neat sentence, but I think Daf just creates a world that you fall in love with, with people that you really root for. The show is Gabriel and Andy going through the adoption process and dealing with everything that comes with that. A lot of things in their pasts complicate their journey through this process. I think is a really amazing bit of storytelling and television.
Why you think this is an important story to tell?
I think it's an important story to tell because I think loads of people will feel like they're seeing themselves for maybe the first time on television. Daf's got a really unique voice and he's interested in stories that maybe haven't been told to the extent they should have previously. I think he likes to root for the outsider. I think he's managed to do that with this show. It's important because I think it'll move people. I think people will feel seen in this show in a way that they probably haven't in the past.
What are the themes of the story?
The show is mainly about this adoption process that Gabriel and Andy go on. But then Gabriel's world feels like a totally different thing, he works as a singer in a club and that's a really interesting side of the story. The performative element is really interesting and the show is the quite theatrical at times. Love, I think is the biggest theme, whether it's the absence of it or the presence of it.
How would you describe Gabe's relationship with Andy? How did they first meet?
Gabriel’s relationship with Andy is really beautiful, it feels really real. It's flawed, it's full of love, it's fiery. It just feels like a very real relationship. All those scenes between Gabriel and Andy will hopefully ring true because there's this real love behind everything the characters do - even though they clearly frustrate each other at times, mainly Gabriel for Andy!
Why do you think Gabriel and Andy have decided they want to adopt?
I think they've decided that they want to adopt because they've been together for a long time. They're at a point in their lives where they want a new chapter and that new challenge, they trust each other enough that they can do it together. It's true, for Andy as well but I think it's mainly Gabriel, where in the adoption process a lot of things come to the surface that he's not dealt with in the past.
These things sort of become roadblocks as he's trying to move forward through the process, it complicates things for both him and for Andy.
The character of Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington) becomes our social worker. She navigates us through the whole adoption process and tries to make sure that we stay open minded. Jackie guides us in the right direction. She's sort of our oracle. Would you say Jackie becomes more than just a social worker to Gabriel and Andy?
Yes, absolutely. It becomes a really lovely personal relationship, especially for Gabriel. She becomes a real like guiding light for him. What was Gabriel's and Andy's first reaction to Jake?
The thing I definitely think that Gabriel notices is there's a cheek to Jake, which I think they both really like. There is definitely a spark there that they don't necessarily have with some of the other children they've met in the process. What's Gabriel's backstory and what's the relationship like with his father? Gabriel's backstory is vast. He lost his mum when he was young, which has a massive effect on him, obviously. That has a really detrimental effect on his relationship with his dad, Emrys (William Thomas), who struggled to be as open as Gabriel needed him to be. They were constantly butting heads and seeing things very differently as Gabriel was growing up. Gabriel then goes to music college in London and lives a very kind of problematic life in London for a while. These are the roots of the issues that later come up as he's trying to go through the adoption process. I think he hopes that as he's getting older his relationship with his dad will mend itself. It doesn't and he realises it's something that is going to take a lot of work. The question is whether he feels he can get to that point or not. Can you describe the Neverland venue featured in the story, the performances and the people who go there?
Neverland is the club that Gabriel performs at, and there's plenty of other performers there - comedians, dancers, drag acts, singers and all sorts. It's a fully inclusive, open, beautiful Babylon-y, Moulin Rouge-y, amazing club where everyone feels like they're welcome. The set itself genuinely had that feeling between the cast, supporting artists and everybody. It was a really special filming location for a week, really wonderful. How did you find those performance scenes?
Performing the songs, it is a different world. I think that's what is really nice about this show - the theatrical element and the performative side, and then the more domestic stuff. In terms of filming the performances it's all storytelling. All the songs are there for a reason, they're part of Gabriel's journey.
I enjoyed those scenes more than I thought I would actually. I really enjoyed the world we all created with the costumes. The energy that we had to Neverland was really special and made all the performance scenes really fun. Those scenes went to a different side of Gabriel because he himself isn't massively performative, but then that becomes his outlet. When he's performing at Neverland that's his way of expressing himself, dealing with and processing things, he does that through song. What have the costumes been like?
I have a wide range of performance costumes Gabriel makes himself, which is just really skilful. He describes himself not as a drag queen, but as a performer. His costumes aren't classic drag, they're more like works of art. It's just him expressing himself through fabric. The contrast between those performance outfits and his domestic side is that the performance ones aren't comfortable at all but they serve an aesthetic purpose that he wants. Where is the series set?
Lost Boys & Fairies is set in Cardiff. We have scenes in Welsh and that's a very true representation of my life growing up in Cardiff. My relationships with people exist in Welsh, English and in both together going in between the two. That feels really genuine because I know that's how Daf and I have always communicated. What is it about the show that will excite audiences?
I think the thing that will excite audiences is that it feels like we're telling a new story. Daf has a really unique voice, his way of storytelling is genuinely unlike anyone else's. He sees the world in a magical way and the music is intertwined with all of that.
What makes Lost Boys & Fairies a ‘must see’?
I think it's got a little something for everyone. I also think it's going to take people by surprise because I don't think people will foresee the journey that the characters go on. It's totally joyous, it's also absolutely heart-breaking - a real gut punch. But I just think people will root for the characters and will want to go on that journey with them, as troublesome as it can be later on down the line.
