Glasgay! 2007 Preview

As another season of Glasgay! approaches, Gareth K Vile looks at the evolution of queer arts in its programme.

Feature by Gareth K Vile | 08 Oct 2007

The joy of Glasgay! is its sheer inclusiveness: from an adaptation of Louise Welsh's hard-hitting Elizabethan thriller Tamburlaine Must Die, through Craig Hill celebrating his love of music to a performance by Brazilian operatic baritone Mauricio Virgens, Glasgay! presents a comprehensive programme that places the predictable alongside the surprising.

Since the last festival, the organisers of Glasgay! have been busy, presenting a successful run of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads at the Edinburgh Fringe and seeking out new supporters. The Scottish Arts Council has increased its funding, allowing the festival to develop new works: not only can Glasgay! pick the cream of existing theatre, comedy and cinema, it is now in a position to generate even more original pieces and nurture local artists.

Glasgay! exists in the space between community participation and artistic excellence, and becomes an opportunity for local organisations to engage with LGBT interests. The National Theatre of Scotland reprises Venus as a Boy, and Kelvingrove Art Galleries host both The Kylie Exhibition and the festival's opening party. Glasgow City Council's Chair of Culture and Sport claims that she is "delighted that, once again, we've been able to demonstrate our support for Britain's largest multi-form queer arts festival".

Undoubtedly, the programme contains something for everyone - but it is equally unlikely that everything will be to any one person's taste. There are the party nights - Death Disco (Arches, 20 Oct) and Utter Gutter (Art School 13 Oct, 10 Nov), a short run of intimate performances at the Q Gallery, the larger shows at the Citizens and the Tron - Tamburlaine Must Die and Venus as a Boy respectively - and the more frivolous The Music of Dirty Dancing at the King's on 15/16 Oct. So ubiquitous has Glasgay! become, it has infiltrated most of Glasgow's autumn season: not only a testament to the diversity of LGBT art, but also to the place that it occupies in both the marginal and mainstream arenas.



THEATRE

Venus as a Boy has already wowed audiences in Orkney and Edinburgh. A solo performance by Tam Dean Burn, it stakes out the territory between mysticism and sexual desire and makes a persuasive case against bigotry. Buoyed along by a live score from Luke Sutherland, author of the original novella, Venus is the story of the boy who could show his lovers heaven: Tam Dean Burn takes on a plethora of roles, from hustlers to innocent children as he reveals Cupid's journey from Orkney to Soho. Daring as both a piece of theatre and a social commentary, Venus is another example of how the National Theatre of Scotland is willing to risk challenging material: expect an emotional evening.

Amy Lamé's Mama Cass Family Singers offers a very different atmosphere. Using the mythology surrounding the sixties' singer, Amy takes a long hard look at her own childhood. A mixture of pre-recorded video interviews with her family, songs from Mama Cass, and Lamé's idiosyncratic patter, Mama Cass is part detective story and part childhood memoir - a performance where fact and fiction are confused and poignancy and laughter are close together.

Little Johnny's Big Gay Musical is the sequel to last year's sell-out performance Little Johnny's Big Gay Adventure. A one-man song and dance show written and performed by Johnny McKnight, this year sees Johnny fulfil his childhood ambitions of stardom.

Since Tamburlaine Must Die is a production that Glasgay! has commissioned, it must take pride of place in the theatre programme. Like Venus, Tamburlaine has been adapted from a novel. It relates the last days of Christopher Marlowe, perhaps England's second greatest playwright, gentleman spy and probable atheist. Rich in historical detail, gothic skulduggery and enigmas, author Louise Welsh recreated a brutal Elizabethan underworld in vivid detail: the play promises no less than a "fate worse than damnation."

CINEMA

Only four films this year, and all at the mighty GFT: last year, the cinematic selection caused a ripple of controversy in the tabloid press, leading to predictable headlines about public money and filth. Whether Israeli romance The Bubble can repeat the shock is debatable - but its updating of Romeo and Juliet to modern Tel Aviv is brave and moving. The classic tale of boy meets boy is given a harsh political context by director Eytan Fox - made more powerful by his refusal to give easy answers or shy away from tragedy.

Puccini for Beginners is even less controversial: described as a 'screwball sitcom for the more cerebral', it follows the Woody Allen tradition of star-crossed intellectuals in complex relationships. Following the misadventures of an opera-loving bisexual through a series of hilarious set-pieces, Puccini promises sophisticated humour and a Greek chorus of sushi chefs.

Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds deserves an award just for the title. Despite the procession of buff bodies and brief sex scenes, this is an old-fashioned lesson-learning comedy masquerading as a queer version of Porkies. The slim plot exists more to lambaste the American ex-gay movement, the script is filled with quick one-liners and bitchy rejoinders, and John Waters star Mink Stole makes a show-stealing appearance.

Duncan Roy updates The Picture of Dorian Gray for a more intellectual treat. Dorian finds himself in modern Manhattan, and plunges into a decadent world of sex and drugs. Across the small collection of films, Glasgay! has demonstrated how broad modern queer cinema has become - from gross humour through to serious political meditations, different moods are represented and a variety of lifestyles are celebrated. If Eating Out is unlikely to offer profound insights, the subtle interplay of characters in Puccini will provide more depth, while both Dorian and The Bubble are thoughtful and dramatically stunning.


BOUTIQUE

The season of intimate performances in the Q! Gallery should be the pride of Glasgay! In a small space, the boundaries between performer and audience are lowered and the artists are able to play with the conventions of stand-up comedy, serious monologues and physical theatre. Like the other strands in the programme, the boutique events cannot be pinned down, ranging from humour to literary deconstruction.

Martin O'Connor was a hit of last year's season, and he's back this year to probe masculinity in Reality. O'Connor's skill is to mix Carry On humour with a searing pathos, chucking out knob gags in the middle of tragic scenarios. Somehow he keeps the poignancy and humour intact, never allowing the jokes to choke the message - or the message to swamp the jokes. This time, he promises a series of characters, from ASBO pest to innocent army recruit. Bursting with infectious energy, O'Connor is a lively talent who has a sharp eye for absurdity: this is sure to be a feel-good and challenging show.

Colette was a successful novelist, but her public personality has overshadowed even her finest literary works. Her struggle to become an artist, battling against her manipulative husband and the social mores of twentieth century France, provides the plot for The Secret Scenes. Devised and performed by Yvonne Caddell, it delves into Colette's intense sensuality, seeking the secrets behind her art and life.

Stick it in my Party Hole is another work that announces its kitsch kookiness in the title. A futurist hostess holds her fantasy party, imagining a celebrity-ridden, decadent extravaganza. Sadly, the reality of her humble home fails to live up to her desires, leading to car-crash levels of camp mayhem.

The Glitterbox Paradox offers something a little different - speed-dating with a difference. A monologue from a new Glasgow company, it threatens to go beyond the usual audition piece conventions - their online manifesto promises events that engage the audience as more than spectators.

Each of these shows include refreshments, and the civilised environment of the Q! Gallery - and the small crowd - give them a originality and charm. The sense of seeing unique work in a different setting is exciting enough - but the impact of the small space on the performance is electrifying.


COMMENT

Looking over the Glasgay! programme, it is impossible to ignore how mainstream LGBT art has become. Kelvingrove offers The Kylie Exhibition, the National Theatre of Scotland is represented and the renewed support of the Scottish Arts Council has enabled events to take place in most of the established venues. Even Glasgow City Marketing Bureau commented that "We look forward to another month-long festival of flamboyant and thought-provoking events. Glasgay! is popular with Glaswegians and tourists alike and helps to reinforce the city's position as a truly progressive and dynamic place to live, work and visit."

From humble beginnings in 1993, Glasgay! has become Glasgow's largest festival, staging events across the city and attracting audiences that probably don't realise that the show is part of the programme. Neither Kylie nor the music of Dirty Dancing are exclusively LGBT and until the tabloids can discover this year's obscenity, there seems to be little that could cause offence or upset. Last year, the excellent Hey Hetero! poster campaign combined explicit politics with sardonic humour: nothing in this year's programme compares.

Perhaps the festival's origins in self-determination and visibility are fading. Since devolution, Scotland's establishment has addressed LGBT issues with energy. In an age of civil partnerships, aggressive or explicitly 'gay' works are no longer necessary and artists can concentrate on other issues.

But Glasgay! hasn't really diluted its intentions. Rather, the range of works suggests that producer Steven Thomson is asking questions about the nature of queer art. Sure, Craig Hill and Little Johnny's Big Gay Musical are pretty obvious - but what about Grumpy Old Women? Is the eighties' kitsch of Dirty Dancing really camp? Amy Lamé discusses her childhood and Martin O'Connor plays with masculinities - are these experiences that exclude heterosexuals? The festival's sole dance piece, Fit, co-opts breakdance - part of a culture that is traditionally homophobic - and uses it to tell stories of coming out.

There is a different sort of visibility in these events - neither antagonistic nor provocative, but comfortable and diverse. There is still space for political performance and predictable comedy, for dressing up and showing off, for heartfelt confession and witnessing. There are plenty of routes through Glasgay!: in the jargon of equality, this is an example of inclusive best practice.

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