Aputheatre

Last updated

Aputheatre ("APU" or "APUT") began life as the Aids Positive Underground Theatre Company. Founded in 1989 at the Sussex Aids Centre in Brighton, England, the objective was to provide a cultural response to HIV and Aids. [1] The company quickly established a reputation for hard-hitting drama very much in the In-yer-face theatre style and a good example of queer theatre. [1] From 1994 onwards, Aputheatre produced work that moved away from being exclusively about HIV-AIDS. Though HIV remained a key subtext in many works, other themes like prostitution, pornography, sexual politics became more important. [2] [3]

The company’s first production, Crying Celibate Tears by John Roman Baker, was performed as part of the Brighton Festival Fringe. It was an instant hit with public and critics alike and the company was invited to perform the following year as part of the main Brighton Festival programme at the Marlborough Theatre. This time the play was The Ice Pick and the company won the Festival Award for Best Theatre. [4] The Los Angeles Times called the play "vivid and compelling". [5]

The following year, in 1991, several sponsors withdrew funds from the Brighton Festival in protest at the company's inclusion, causing embarrassment within the festival administration and much public outcry. [6] Political controversy often accompanied the company's performances. Politicians in Edinburgh and Forlì, Italy tried to gain votes by calling for theatres' funding to be withdrawn. Printers also refused to print festival brochures. Even within the company's home base, the Sussex Aids Centre, there was fierce opposition from some to the company's work which was considered too strong, too gay and which never followed a politically correct line. Such controversy and opposition also garnered support for the theatre company, notably from Lindsay Kemp and Derek Jarman. [7]

Aputheatre became Brighton and Edinburgh Festival regulars. Between 1989 and 1997 their work was in many cities in the UK and internationally in Italy and the United States.

In 1998 Aputheatre's two founders, John Roman Baker and Rod Evan moved to Amsterdam, where a creative relationship was established with COC Nederland, a Dutch organization for LGBT men and women. [1] The company initially developed four strong plays which explored the sub-culture of prostitution among young East European men living in Amsterdam. The Prostitution Plays' together with a later production Romophobia have charted the evolution and demise of male street prostitution in Amsterdam that has occurred at the beginning of the 21st Century. [1]

With its establishment on the continent in the Netherlands, the company was able to take its work to other European countries, with tours in Italy, Poland and Ukraine.

In 2003, the controversial East Side Skin [8] was performed in Amsterdam and Eindhoven. The play explored the attraction of the far right within gay subculture and was inspired in part by the assassination earlier that year of Dutch Populist politician Pim Fortuyn. A DVD of that production was released early in 2004.

In 2005, the play Romophobia explored the lives of two Romanians living illegally in Amsterdam, against a backdrop of sexual uncertainty and police harassment. [9] The play highlighted the policy of police to raid gay bars on Amsterdam's Paardenstrat and then arrest, incarcerate and deport young men, with no legal representation. During the run of the play, perhaps as a result of publicity generated around the issue, the police raids stopped.[ citation needed ]

In 2006 with the production Prisoners of Sex author John Roman Baker and Aputheatre returned to their original theme of HIV-AIDS to explores the complexity and compulsions of unprotected sex among men. [10]

In November 2008 the company announced a new production entitled 'TOUCHED' to be premiered in Amsterdam in December 2008. The production is written and directed by John Roman Baker and performed by Luis Carrión and Richard Morris.

Productions

Related Research Articles

<i>Into the Woods</i> 1986 musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine

Into the Woods is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World AIDS Day</span> International day on 1 December

World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The HIV virus attacks the immune system of the patient and reduces its resistance to other diseases. Government and health officials, non-governmental organizations, and individuals around the world observe the day, often with education on AIDS prevention and control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in the Netherlands</span>

Prostitution in the Netherlands is legal and regulated. Operating a brothel is also legal. De Wallen, the largest and best-known Red-light district in Amsterdam, is a destination for international sex tourism.

DV8 Physical Theatre was a physical theatre company based at Artsadmin in London, United Kingdom. It was officially founded in 1986 by Lloyd Newson (1986–2015), Michelle Richecoeur (1986–1988) and Nigel Charnock. Lloyd Newson led the company as choreographer and artistic director from its inception, apart from the production My Sex, Our Dance (1986), which was co-created and performed with Nigel Charnock. DV8 officially ended in April 2022 when Lloyd Newson announced his retirement via the company web page.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Carter (actor)</span> English actor

James Edward Carter is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Mr Carson in the ITV historical drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), which earned him four nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2012–2015). He reprised the role in the feature films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Conigrave</span> Australian actor, activist and author

Tim Conigrave was an Australian actor, activist and author of the internationally acclaimed memoir, Holding the Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV/AIDS in Brazil</span>

The first AIDS case identified in Brazil was in 1982. Infection rates climbed exponentially throughout the 1980s, and in 1990 the World Bank famously predicted 1,200,000 cases by 2000, approximately double the actual number that was later reported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and most international organizations. South and Southeast have 75% or more of this infection. The Northeast has 33% of the population but only 10% of AIDS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Roman Baker</span> British writer

John Roman Baker is a British writer and theatre director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dadi Pudumjee</span> Indian puppeteer awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Dadi Pudumjee is a leading puppeteer in India and he is the founder of The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Unite</span> Independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group

Virgin Unite is the working name of The Virgin Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group. Created by Richard Branson and Virgin employees in September 2004, Virgin Unite pools volunteering efforts from across the Virgin Group and its hundreds of subsidiaries and associated companies to grow the efforts of smaller grassroots charitable organizations. Partnered with more than a dozen charities worldwide the company also provides a resource through the Internet by serving as an online donation centre for those wanting to contribute.

Pomo Afro Homos (1990–1995), short for postmodern African American homosexuals, was an African-American gay theater troupe founded in San Francisco by choreographer-dancer Djola Bernard Branner, actor Brian Freeman, and singer, dancer, and actor Eric Gupton. Later, Marvin K. White joined the group. They presented the black gay male experience. Their pieces include Fierce Love: Stories From Black Gay Life and Dark Fruit. They got their start through exposure via National Performance Network festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Stewart</span> Australian ballet dancer and choreographer

Garry Stewart is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renowned for his unusual, post-modern interpretations of classical ballets.

The Federal government of the United States requires certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive federal anti-HIV/AIDS or anti-trafficking funds to adopt an organization-wide policy opposing prostitution and sex-trafficking. This requirement, known as the anti-prostitution pledge, has been in place since 2003.

This is an overview of prostitution by region.

<i>Love Patrol</i> 2007 Vanuatuan TV series or program

Love Patrol is a ni-Vanuatu television series. It is the first ever locally produced television series in Vanuatu. Produced by Wan Smolbag Theatre with financial assistance from AusAID, NZAID and the Asian Development Bank, it is a soap opera with a serious message, intended primarily to educate viewers on the topic of AIDS. It also tackles "youth unemployment, police brutality and the hypocrisy of keeping youth uninformed about sex". UNAIDS reported that it explores "the growing issues of high rates of STIs among young people, high teenage pregnancy, lack of discourse on sex and risk taking behaviours in [...] Pacific communities". It has been described as an "edutainment" series.

Danny Alder, sometimes credited as Danny Allder, is a UK-based Australian film, television and theatre actor.

SPILL Festival of Performance is an artist-led biennale of experimental theatre and live art in the UK which began in 2007 and takes place in a variety of venues in London and Ipswich, England. The festival is produced by Pacitti Company and the Artistic Director is Robert Pacitti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Mesdag</span> Dutch singer and cabaret artist

Jan Mesdag was a Dutch singer and cabaret artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlborough Pub and Theatre</span>

The Marlborough Pub and Theatre is a historic venue, situated at 4 Princes Street, Brighton. It has been associated, since the 1970s, with the LGBT community. The Marlborough's small theatre presents drama, cabaret and music throughout the year, including during the Brighton Fringe Festival, LGBT History Month and Brighton Pride Arts Festival. The pub reopened in 2021 as 'The Actors'.

Joan Alicia Shenton is a British-Chilean broadcaster who has produced and presented programmes for radio and television.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Aputheatre website Archived 2007-08-07 at the Wayback Machine ; retrieved on 2007-11-22
  2. ↑ “A significant shift in Aids Theatre” - (Plays and Players May 1990)
  3. ↑ Ice Pick Poster Archived 2007-06-07 at the Wayback Machine ; retrieved on 2007-11-22
  4. ↑ Ice Pick Poster 1 Archived 2008-05-22 at the Wayback Machine ; Retrieved on 2007-11-22
  5. ↑ Ice Pick Poster 2 Archived 2007-06-07 at the Wayback Machine ; Retrieved on 2007-11-22
  6. ↑ Queer Heritage South
  7. ↑ Smiling in Slow Motion (p55), Derek Jarman (1991)
  8. 1 2 Film: East Side Skin (2003);
  9. ↑ "John Roman Baker". www.doollee.com. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  10. ↑ Netherlands: Unprotected Acts On Stage Archived October 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine ; retrieved on 2007-11-22
  11. ↑ "Pacitti Company". Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  12. ↑ Aputheatre Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Poster - Aputheatre.com
  14. ↑ "Pacitti Company". Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Aputheatre". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Brighton Ourstory; retrieved on 22 November 2007
  17. ↑ The Independent
  18. ↑ Zap Art Archive Archived 2015-02-07 at the Wayback Machine ;
  19. ↑ Pulse Magazine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.