Madfabulous review – Callum Scott Howells shines as flamboyant aristocrat in hedonistic period romp

Howells puts in a strong turn as Henry Paget, a Victorian marquess who blows his inheritance on hosting wild parties and staging gender-defying theatrical performances

Playing the shy Colin in Russell T Davies’s 2021 TV drama It’s a Sin, Callum Scott Howells had to be the humble caterpillar compared to Olly Alexander’s extravagant butterfly. But now Howells gets an upgrade to full butterfly status in this high-spirited and good-humoured drama from screenwriter Lisa Baker and director Celyn Jones, reclaiming a forgotten chapter in queer Victorian history.

With a moustache resembling that of Proust, Howells amusingly plays the flamboyant aristocrat Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey, a delicate consumptive and aesthete who, in the late 19th century, blew his vast inheritance on colossal private theatricals, wild parties and jaw-dropping performances in which he would appear in gender-challenging costumes, including a diaphanous veil he wore as a “butterfly dancer”. He caused scandal with his behaviour and apparently unconsummated marriage to first cousin Lily (Ruby Stokes), whose attitude to him here is perhaps more affectionate and tolerant than it was in real life.