A century of love, heartbreak and history come to life as Everyman Theatre reprises its acclaimed production of Queers at ACT Hub on 14-24 February.
The Kingston theatre space is transformed into a quintessential British pub- The Prince’s Arms, allowing for an immersive experience of human connection.
Queers was curated by Mark Gatiss for British television as a way to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act being passed in 1967. The legislation legalised homosexual acts between men aged over 21 in private.
Penning one of the monologues himself, Gatiss, known for writing for shows like Sherlock and Doctor Who, commissioned other writers to capture moments of queer history. These moments start in 1917 with a solider returning from war to the 1957 Wolfenden Report, the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis and ending with a groom preparing to marry after the legislation of gay marriage.
“These really distinct fully realised and fully fleshed out characters represent a different point in queer history and a different perspective on what it was to be queer at that time. A lovely mix of men, women, queer people, allies, people wrestling with sexuality, gender identity- a diverse array of perspectives,” says actor Joel Horwood.
Stepping into the 1980s, during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, Horwood performs More Anger written by Brian Fillis. The character is an actor who finds himself tired of being cast as a dying gay man over and over, while his loved ones and friends are dying around him.
“That’s his gripe, then he gets to play a role who’s not dying and isn’t going to ever die but then it turns out that character is astonishingly boring,” they say.
The piece is close to home for Horwood as an actor. In the monologue, the character questions what will be left when the crisis slows down and there isn’t a demand for the dying gay man. Horwood says we are seeing more and more multi-dimensional queer characters in our media.
“It was for a long time so rare to see rich, complex stories about queer people being told where we weren’t being sidelined as supporting characters, usually the sort of funny best friend. To see these fully realised, incredibly human characters speak to the rich human experience where we don’t have to be afraid of presenting unlikable characters.”
The human history of the production is what Horwood hopes resonates with viewers, they want people to leave with a deeper understanding of what queer people before experienced.
“It’s so important for young people both queer and straight to see what it was like 100 years ago to be queer, we take so many things for granted these days. I’d love for young audience members that come to the show to come away from it and just have a little bit more gratitude for the huge amount of progress we’ve had as a society. A bit more respect for the generations who came before us and had to fight through difficult times.”
Spend an evening at The Prince’s Arms in Queers at ACT Hub on 14-24 February; acthub.com.au
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