From Jake Shears – world famous singer, songwriter, actor and LGBTQ+ icon – comes this wide-eyed and determined comingof-age story. A kid with an unfathomable imagination and a love of He-Man dolls, Shears’ childhood was marked by school bullies and the terror of the rise and misunderstanding surrounding the AIDS virus. In the street life and lights of late 90s New York City, Shears gradually found a sense of belonging and freedom, forming the incredible Scissor Sisters and going on to sell out venues worldwide. The heartbeat of Shears’ story is his friendship with Mary Hanlon. For years Shears lived in New York with a landline for which only Mary knew the number. Although long-distance, self-absorption and changing circumstances would take their toll on the friendship, this was the safe-house that sheltered a pair of misfits from the unthinking prejudices of a fearful world, a haven to which both would always return, and for which Shears wrote the song ‘Mary’.