GLASGAY! TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
will also premiere. while a new print of Kazan's Streetcar will feature in the film component.
alongside screenings of other filmed versions of
Williams‘ work.
Thomson speaks about the inclusiveness of this particular Glasgayl. reflecting the new aesthetic battles within ‘queer' culture. ‘Things for us have really changed in the last couple of years. and this exploration of the plays of Tennessee Williams is part of that.‘ he says. "The interesting
thing — and something that concerns a lot of people in LGBT community — is this issue of
mainstreaming and what it means. Hanging over this is the question of whether our queer. fucked- up identity is being written out of the safe annals of social history in a negative sense.
‘If you look at the work of Tennessee Williams. or for that matter. Alan Bennett. who we did last year. you discover a very strong sense of a queer
underscore of adversity which runs through all of our lives. whether that be family adversity or
other kinds of struggle. This applies not just in
the lives of gay people. but through all of our
lives. There really is that pill-popping. boo/e- soaked sense of strain under his work that anyone might relate to.‘
Thomson is at pains to stress that gay themes are more directly addressed in these little—known
one-act plays than they were in Williams' better
known works that had to be tailored to a heterosexual audience. Still though. he maintains these aren‘t simple
18 THE LIST 18 Sep—2 Oct 2008
Period of Adjustment. below: A Streetcar Named Desire
‘gay issue‘ plays. ‘In these works. Tennessee Williams puts his gay characters right out there. but he gives them all the proclivities that straight people have. be it fucked-up relationships or dodgy parents.‘ he says. ‘What he doesn‘t do is represent them as victimised. What I was interested in was the meeting point between heterosexual culture and homosexual culture. In some of the works that we‘re doing. the gay characters are out. btit it’s less about their own sexuality than their acceptance by society. It‘s often about their own self censorship. at least as much as the censorship of their behaviour by those around them.’
Another short piece premiering at the festival is more specifically about a gay experience. rIltd 72'” Sad Stories rift/Iv Dear/i (3/‘(_)uecns picks up a similar story to the one at the heart of Streetcar. but with less reliance on metaphor and a more direct retelling of the experience. ‘It‘s a story about a gay boutique owner. who picks tip a very rough sailor and takes him homef says Thomson. 'Ile‘s fascinated by the sailor and the sailor is also quite fascinated by this very queeny. sceney guy. There‘s a kind of dance of the seven veils and something almost happens. then the sailor changes his mind and decides to beat the crap out of the guy. Now that‘s a story that would ring very true to a lot of gay guys.’
lilysiuri Fields also offers a lot of interest to Williams' aficionados. not just in its discussion of queer issues. btit also in its experimental. anti— naturalist approach. Derek McLuckie's play uses a dream sequence. in which the repressed characters of Williams‘ work express their hidden desires. as a starting point for a biographical piece. which takes place at a crucial point in Williams’ life. ‘We talk about the time when Williams was using a lot of amphetamines and tranquilisers.~ says the playwright. ‘We can move away from some naturalistic context and talk about the stuff that happens in a kind of dream world. because at the time of his life we‘re focusing on. he was in that world of drugs and booze. so there‘s a lot of his perspective.’
Glasgayl, various venues, Glasgow, Wed 1 Oct-Sun 9 Nov.
GLASGAY! HIGHLIGHTS
David Trullo's Ecoe Horne & Gregor Laird's Plastic Pastorals
These two rising stars of the European art circuit display their wares at the
O! Gallery. Spanish photographer Trullo unpicks the enduring Western obsession with beauty while Scot
l aird satirises romantic notions of his home nation in glorious pop-art colours. Both O.’ Gallery: Ecce Homo. Tue 9 Sop—Sat 4 Oct; Plastic Pastorals, Tue 7 Oct—Sat 9 Nov.
An Ocean of Rain Theatre Cryptic and Dutch Ensemble MAE present the Scottish premier of this new multimedia opera which explores life after death. Set in Haiti. the libretto focuses on Kiev. a yOung prostitute on the run from her husband and the authorities. who witnesses the murder of a sex tourist. The music is a fUSion of electro with live instrumentation from MAE. Tramway, Thu 9—Saf II Oct.
I.
Civil
Inspired by the phenomenally successful. landmark 1975 memoir The Naked Civil Servant. Robert Pacitti's piece explores the legaCy of queer icon Quentin Crisp. The one-man show uses multimedia to portray the life of the man who famously refused to stay in the closet.
Tramway Thu l6 8. Fri 7 7 Oct.
House Valley Vogue Ball
Kill for a ticket to Glasgow's first ever drag ball! On a dreich Saturday night in October, Lady Munter and her acolytes
will appear to lead one of the most glamorous. lipstick- coated nights the city has ever seen. Meanwhile. a catwalk competition gives all those with a bit of a swnig in their step the chance to take part in a ‘vogue- off '. Sloans Ballroom. Sat 25 Oct.
Bloom, Bud Suite 8 La Reigne
The latest work from acclaimed US choreographer Stephen Petronio is based on lyrics by The Stranglers and Rufus Wainwright. Petronio's non- narrative approach to dance is a joy for audiences who prefer to revel in the dancers' shapes across the stage rather than worry about Giselle's broken heart. Theatre Royal. Tue 4 8. Wed 5 Nov.
Film Programme With a tribute to Bette DaVis. a flirty London flick with Brittany Murphy, a handful of sexy. edgy foreign films and cameos from the likes of Dawn French. Glasgay's film programme is the very model of eclecticism. Venues and dates vary.