LGBTQ theatre

Last updated

LGBTQ theatre (also known as gay theatre, lesbian theatre or queer theatre) is theatre that is based on the lives of gay and lesbian people and their culture. Some LGBTQ theatre is specifically about the experiences of gay men or lesbian women. [1] Collectively, LGBTQ theatre forms part of LGBTQ culture.

Contents

Famous examples of LGBTQ theatre include the musical Rent by Jonathan Larson and the play Bent by Martin Sherman.

Performance of Rent, an example of LGBTQ theatre. 1ffcb6cdf1302c5b4c1857381fedb34c-rent-obc-hr.jpg
Performance of Rent , an example of LGBTQ theatre.

History of LGBTQ theatre

Ancient Greece

In Ancient Greece, homosexuality was considered normal and was even promoted in some settings. In Thebes, it was actively practiced and legally "incentivized". [2] The theater was considered a "tool to promote society's values" [3] and homosexuality was showcased in these plays. In Aristophanes' play The Knights , the protagonist Agoracritus openly admits to having been a "passive" partner. [4] In another one of Aristophanes' plays, Thesmophoriazusae , the character of Euripides directs what could be seen as homophobic comments to his colleague Agathon. Other characters in the play ridicule his behavior and point out their obsession with masculinity. [5] As the play is a comedy, many have interpreted the character as humorous. A theorized example of homosexuality in the Iliad is Achilles and Patroclus. Historians and contemporaries theorize that the characters had a more than platonic relationship. [6] The story of Achilles and Patroclus was portrayed in William Shakespeare's play, Troilus and Cressida .

Pre-20th century

Due to both social and legal discrimination, the homosexual experience was hidden from theatrical audiences in the centuries following the downfall of Ancient Greece and leading up to the 20th century. Theatre during that time period is not known to have openly expressed any LGBTQ themes or ideas, although there were LGBTQ playwrights before 1900, such as Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), who imbued their theatrical works with their personality while keeping their sexual orientation a secret. [7] Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the idea of homosexuality was not only stigmatized but also criminalized in many places around the world. In the UK, the punishment for any act of sodomy was execution. [8] Additionally, there was a shift in the understanding of homosexuality in the 18th century where to "commit sodomy" became no longer simply an act but a larger stain on one's entire identity, making one a "sodomite". [8] It would have been incredibly dangerous for playwrights, actors, producers, or anyone involved in a theatrical production to put on a play with gay characters during those years. However, gender-bending has a long theatrical tradition. In the era of Shakespeare, men would play women's roles in theatre. [9] Women were not allowed to be actors, so men would dress up like women to portray female characters in the plays. [10] This continued until the 19th century when the popularization of opera allowed women to access the world of theater. [11]

Mid-20th century

United States

In the United States, the New York City theatre scene was the center of LGBTQ theatre in the country during the mid-20th century. Caffe Cino was the birthplace of Off-Off Broadway, where The Madness of Lady Bright , the first admittedly LGBTQ play was performed. [11] The show was the longest-running at the Caffe Cino and was performed over 200 times to packed houses. [12] Four years later, the first LGBTQ play to be on Off-Broadway, was performed, The Boys in the Band. [11] This play garnered serious attention, as it was performed at a legitimate playhouse. Although reactions were mixed, The Boys in the Band cemented a legacy for itself and is considered one of the classic LGBTQ plays. [13] By 1983, a mainstream LGBTQ musical on Broadway was performed. La Cage aux Folles was a musical based on the 1978 movie La Cage aux Folles. [14] The story surrounds a middle-aged homosexual couple who learns how deep their love truly is after navigating obstacles. The play was groundbreaking because of the characterization of its main characters, one being the owner of a Saint-Tropez drag club and the other its star performer. The play received high praise and won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1984. It was performed 1,761 times, and was revived in the fall of 2004. [14]

Late 20th-21st century

United States

The mid-20th century saw the rise of LGBTQ plays and the popularization of them. Even with the stigma around the LGBTQ community, especially with the rise in the AIDS epidemic, LGBTQ pride and media were becoming mainstream. Plays, TV shows, and films about LGBT-identifying people were becoming common pieces of media. Popular musicals began to pop up throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the most famous being Rent, which came out in the 1990s. The musical is set in the early 1990s, and it centers around a group of New Yorkers, as they struggle with their careers, love lives, and the AIDS epidemic. The play was seen as groundbreaking and was performed over 5,000 times and ran for 12 years. [15] The legacy that Rent produced allowed for a range of LGBTQ productions to be performed across the world. Subsequent notable American LGBTQ musicals include Fun Home, The Prom , and A Strange Loop.

Legacy

The history of LGBTQ theatre has inspired many plays and musicals over the years. As the genre grew, playwrights and screenwriters cited the "classics" as their reference for their projects. A prominent play that has been cited as "influential", was one of the first, The Boys in the Band. [11] The play became prominent throughout the U.S. when it came out for being the "most frank description of being gay", and instantly received praise and criticism. [16] The play, for many, was cited as their first time being exposed to homosexuality. In 2018, an article by the New York Times came out, where people submitted stories about how they heard about The Boys in the Band, and how it affected them. The play was revived for its fiftieth anniversary in 2018 with a cast including Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, and Zachary Quinto. [11] The play's producer Ryan Murphy stated "The guys that who are the leads, are the first generation of gay actors who said, 'We're going to live authentic lives and hope and pray our careers remain on track' — and they have. I find that profound." [17] The play was brought back with two other gay "classics", Angels in America and Torch Song Trilogy . [11]

LGBTQ theatre around the world

Background

LGBTQ theatre has become much more popular in the last century, including in North America, Asia, and Europe. However, this has not been without resistance, due to homophobia and other discrimination against the LGBTQ community. The presence, scope, and reception of LGBTQ theatre often depends on the country or region's rates of legal and cultural tolerance and acceptance of the LGBTQ community.

Asia

LGBTQ theatre is generally less prominent in Asia than in other continents. [18]

South Asia

The tradition of men playing women's roles has a "long history" in the theatrical traditions of South Asia, being mentioned both in Patanjali's Mahabhasya and in the Natya Shastra . In contemporary tradition, female impersonation is still practiced in the dance/theatre forms of Kathakali (Kerala) and Ramlila (Uttar Pradesh), among others, but has "vanished from the urban cultural zone". [19]

Taiwan

Within Taiwan, conservatism is still widely present which represses many citizens in general but especially those of the LGBTQ community. [18] However, since the lifting of martial law in the country, queer theater has become more popular. Many Taiwanese queer theatres had similar themes, those being queer identification and gender and sexuality. A very important person during this time in LGBTQ theatre was Lai Sheng-Chuan, who would end up bringing LGBTQ theatre to light by criticizing the government, as well as dreams that many Taiwanese people wished to achieve because the martial law was abolished. [18]

The first known queer theater in Taiwan was Maoshi, which was established in 1988 by Tian ChiYuan, who would end up dying from AIDS. He would use theatre to fight homophobia as well as stigma against AIDS during times of extreme conservatism. [18] His goal was to break social norms and to bring light to people of the LGBTQ community. Some of Tian ChiYuan's most known plays are adaptations of Whitewater and Legend of the white snake, which were both centered around homoerotic love, which was an unseen public topic during the 1990s. [18] Even after Tian ChiYuan's death, people would continue to create adaptations of Whitewater because of its symbolism of queer trauma and people wanted that legacy to continue, because of his amazing influence in LGBTQ theatre.

Turkey

In the 2010s into the 2020s, trans women have become more prominent in Turkey's alternative theatre spheres, both as creators of works and as subjects of works. However, beyond the smaller productions helmed by trans women, which are "characterized by themes of hope and resistance", theatrical representations of trans women have largely been produced by cisgender actors and creators, with a focus on "trans women's suffering," "often [ending] with the main character's death. [20]

Europe

Like the U.S., Europe generally has a more progressive view on LGBTQ theatre and has been accepting of the LGBTQ community while also providing representation. In Europe, LGBTQ theatre dates back all the way to the 6th century BC in Ancient Greece. Although technically it is not classified as LGBT, men would dress as women because women were not yet allowed in the theatre industry, which can be seen as a form of drag. [13]

Estonia

Following an end to theatre censorship following the Singing Revolution and the country's independence in 1991, Estonian theatre began to explore formerly taboo themes of gender and sexuality, and "[embraced] LGBTQ+ themes, characters, and aesthetics". [21]

United Kingdom

Some Shakespeare plays have been identified as having LGBTQ themes, such as As You Like It and Twelfth Night , [22] both of which have female characters who crossdress as men and enter into flirtatious interactions with women.

In the UK, restrictions on LGBTQ theatre existed into the 20th century. The Lord Chamberlain was empowered by the Licensing Act 1737 to act as a theatrical censor, a power which was held by the office until 1968. [23] However, later some of those restrictions would be lifted and in the 21st century many LGBTQ plays have been performed.

North America

Canada

In the Canadian province of Quebec, LGBTQ playwrights in the 1980s and 1990s saw success in marketing gay and lesbian-related theatre to mixed audiences of both LGBTQ and straight people. [24]

United States

LGBTQ theatre has been relatively well known in the U.S. for the past few decades. It has been around for longer than that but suffered a lot of controversy. [25] Some U.S. LGBTQ shows include Rent, an LGBTQ story written in 2005 by Chris Columbus about the contracting of AIDS and the controversy surrounding it, or The Prom by Chad Beguelin, which follows a group of Indiana teens trying to help their lesbian friend who was banned from bringing her girlfriend to the prom due to living in a conservative town. These musicals/plays portray LGBTQ characters and provide representation to their audiences. The U.S. has been a hub for LGBTQ representation and this is very apparent through LGBTQ theatre. This includes more than just Broadway, as there is a plentiful amount of smaller theatres which premiere LGBTQ centered plays all around the U.S. Playbill stated, "Diversionary Theatre was founded in 1986 to provide quality theatre for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The mission of the theatre is to provide an inspiring and thought-provoking theatrical platform to explore complex and diverse LGBTQ stories." [11] This theatre and many other smaller theatres have similar missions: to present diversity among LGBTQ individuals and to educate people about the community.

Oceania

Australia

By the mid-1990s, the "divisions between gay and mainstream theatre" were "increasingly blurred" in Australia; however, academics noted that LGBTQ representation in Australian plays and musicals was largely limited to gay men. [26]

Backlash to LGBTQ theatre

Background

LGBTQ theater has faced backlash from audiences and critics for over a century. The backlash against LGBTQ theater ranges from physical to financial threats and is a big part of the barriers that LGBTQ theater faces due to the nature of its content. These backlashes are often because of what LGBTQ theater is about — showing the lives and stories of LGBTQ folks living their lives, such as musicals like Rent and plays like Angels in America. [27] [28]

Financial and cancellation threats

Some backlashes against LGBTQ theater relate to the withdrawal of financial support or the canceling of the show itself. Financial threats are the most common in the LGBTQ theater and threaten many stages where LGBTQ performances can be held.[ citation needed ]

United States

In December 1935, authorities in Boston declared that the play The Children's Hour did not meet the standards of the Watch and Ward Society due to its "lesbian content" and that it could not be performed in the following month as scheduled. Producer Herman Shumlin filed a $250,000 suit for damages with support from the ACLU, [29] but in February 1936 a Federal judge refused to prevent the city from interfering in the presentation of the play. [30] : 49–50  [31] [32] [33] In January 1936, a municipal censorship ordinance was used to decline granting a performance permit for The Children's Hour in Chicago. [30] : 50  [34]

In March 1970, when the play The Boys in the Band was staged in the Black Box Theater at the Atlanta Memorial Arts Center, the Fulton County Commission threatened to cut public funding due to its portrayal of gay life, labeling it "filthy content." [35] Nevertheless, the play continued to be staged for two weeks and would be staged again at Buckhead Theatre in 1976.

The 1996 premiere of Angels in America in Charlotte, North Carolina was threatened with cancellation due to protests from locals. This made the show more successful because more people gathered to see what the fuss was all about, selling out the tickets. [36]

In the 2020s, the cancellation of shows has occurred most often in school plays, as school administration may cancel shows due to their content. For example, at Florida's Duval County Public Schools in January 2023, administrators stopped production of the play Indecent , which detailed a love affair between two women, due to its "mature content." [37] In February 2023, Indiana's Northwest Allen County Schools canceled a production of the play Marian after adults protested over its depiction of a same-sex couple and a non-binary character. [37]

Russia

In November 2022, performances of a children's play at a theatre in the Southern Russian city of Novosibirsk were canceled just days after local Culture Ministry authorities stated that they would investigate whether or not the performance violated anti-LGBTQ legislation set in place in 2013. [38] Although the Siberian Theater announced that the play was canceled due to technical difficulties, the show's cancellation came only days after many posts emerged on social media to investigate whether the show broke the Russian laws banning the "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations with minors." [39] The show was canceled just 20 minutes before the start, and while authorities declined to say whether the cancellation was due to the announced investigation, many believe that the cancellation was due to the relationship of two characters in the show where they act out a scene from The Princess and The Ogre as two men.

Hungary

In June 2018, the Hungarian State Opera canceled over a dozen performances of the musical Billy Elliot after a newspaper columnist accused the production of being "gay propaganda." [40] A June 1 column by Zsofia N. Horvath in the conservative paper Magyar Idők claimed that the musical exposed young audience members to "unrestrained gay propaganda," going "against the objectives of the state...in a situation where the population is already aging and decreasing." This caused 15 of the show's performances to be canceled. [41]

Notable LGBTQ theatre practitioners

Below is a collection of multiple notable LGBTQ actors, [42] [43] directors, and playwrights. [44] It contains different people from throughout the eras, going as far back as 1854, and to recent, more modern roles.

Selected theatrical works with LGBTQ characters or themes

Musicals

Plays

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wang, Wencong (June 2014). "Lesbianism and Lesbian Theatre". Comparative Literature: East & West. 21 (1): 113–123. doi: 10.1080/25723618.2014.12015466 . ISSN   2572-3618.
  2. ↑ Flynn, James (22 June 2021). "Love and Soldiers". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Hemingway, Colette (October 2004). "Theater in Ancient Greece | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History". The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  4. ↑ Aristophanes. Knights. 1255
  5. ↑ Thesmophoriazusae lines 383–530
  6. ↑ Wittenberg, Hayley Rhodes (2023-06-02). "He Whom I Loved as Dearly as My Own Life: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Achilles and Patroclus". Scientia et Humanitas. 13: 47–57. ISSN   2470-8178. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  7. ↑ Editors, HISTORY com (2018-05-07). "Oscar Wilde Trial". HISTORY. Retrieved 2025-09-10.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. 1 2 "18th century Queer Cultures #1: the Macaroni and his ancestors • V&A Blog". V&A Blog. 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  9. ↑ "Women Performers in Shakespeare's Time | Folger Shakespeare Library". folger.edu. 2019-11-12. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  10. ↑ "When men were men (and women, too)". Harvard Gazette. 2003-07-17. Archived from the original on 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Green, Jesse (2018-02-26). "A Brief History of Gay Theater, in Three Acts". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  12. ↑ "Caffe Cino: Birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway". U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  13. 1 2 "LGBTQ+ Playwrights, Plays and all that jazz | Library". 2020-02-20. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  14. 1 2 "La Cage aux Folles | The Shows". Broadway: The American Musical. PBS. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  15. ↑ Grode, Eric (2021-02-25). "The Birth of 'Rent,' Its Creator's Death and the 25 Years Since". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  16. ↑ Healy, Patrick (2010-03-03). "'The Band' Helped Writers Find Their Beat". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  17. ↑ Holdren, Sara (2018-05-31). "Theater Review: Can The Boys in the Band Work in 2018?". Vulture. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Tu, KaiChieh (2016-09-04). "Taiwanese Experimental and Queer Theater: Always Political, Always Queer". The Theatre Times. Archived from the original on 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  19. ↑ Hansen, Kathryn (2002). "A Different Desire, a Different Femininity: Theatrical Transvestism in the Parsi, Gujarati, and Marathi Theaters, 1850–1940". Queering India. Routledge. ISBN   9780203951217.
  20. ↑ Yanikcan, A. Berkem (2023-07-04). "The Limits of Cis Compassion: The sad trans experience and its others in contemporary Turkish theatre" . Performance Research. 28 (5): 58–66. doi:10.1080/13528165.2023.2321068. ISSN   1352-8165.
  21. ↑ Linder, Eva-Liisa (2023). "Icebreakers: The Untold Story of Queer Theatre in Post-Soviet Estonia". Nordic Theatre Studies. 35 (1): 24–40. doi: 10.7146/nts.v35i1.145371 . ISSN   2002-3898.
  22. ↑ Charles, Casey (1997). "Gender Trouble in Twelfth Night". Theatre Journal. 49 (2): 121–141. ISSN   1086-332X.
  23. ↑ Shellard, Dominic; Nicholson, Steve; Handley, Miriam (2004). The Lord Chamberlain regrets: a history of British theatre censorship (1. publ ed.). London: The British Library. pp. 3–17, 86–87, 140, 149, 162, 169. ISBN   978-0-7123-4865-2.
  24. ↑ Moss, Jane (1992-12-01). "Dramatizing Sexual Difference: Gay and Lesbian Theater in Quebec" . American Review of Canadian Studies. 22 (4): 489–498. doi:10.1080/02722019209480889. ISSN   0272-2011.
  25. ↑ Grunfeld, Aaron (June 21, 2016). "15 Regional Companies Leading the Charge in Gay Theatre". Playbill . Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  26. ↑ Parr, Bruce (1997-12-31). "From gay and lesbian to queer theatre". In Kelly, Veronica (ed.). Our Australian Theatre in the 1990s. Rodopi. pp. 90–92. ISBN   978-90-420-0289-0.
  27. ↑ Griffiths, Jamie (January 6, 2023). "The Greatest LGBTQ+ Musicals". Matinee. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  28. ↑ Wilkie, Tiffany (June 21, 2021). "35 Plays to Pick Up for LGBTQ+ Pride Month". Performer Stuff. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  29. ↑ "ACLU History: Earliest Advocacy on Behalf of LGBT People". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  30. 1 2 Sova, Dawn B. (2004). Banned Plays: Censorship Histories of 125 Stage Dramas. New York: Facts On File. pp. 49–51. ISBN   978-1-4381-2993-8.
  31. ↑ Associated Press (December 15, 1935). "'Children's Hour' Banned in Boston". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  32. ↑ Associated Press (December 27, 1935). "Boston Sued on Play Ban". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  33. ↑ Associated Press (February 25, 1936). "Boston Play Ban Holds". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-02-16. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  34. ↑ Associated Press (January 10, 1936). "'The Children's Hour' is Weighed in Chicago". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  35. ↑ "Controversy and Resilience in the Theater". Georgia Exhibits. 8 February 2021. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  36. ↑ Butler, Isaac; Kois, Dan (February 13, 2018). "Angels in North Carolina: How one Southern theater won a culture battle but lost the culture wars". Slate. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  37. 1 2 Natanson, Hannah (May 2, 2023). "The culture war's latest casualty: The high school musical". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 9, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  38. ↑ Time, Current (November 21, 2022). "Children's Theater Canceled In Russia Following Promised Investigation Of Alleged LGBTQ 'Propaganda'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  39. ↑ Бојчев, Борјан (21 November 2022). "In Russia, a children's play was canceled due to an alleged violation of an anti-LGBTI+ law". Sloboden Pečat. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  40. ↑ Karasz, Palko (June 22, 2018). "'Billy Elliot' Musical Branded Gay Propaganda in Hungary; Cancellations Follow". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  41. ↑ McPhee, Ryan (June 25, 2018). "Hungarian Production of Billy Elliot Cancels Portion of Run After Conservative Backlash". Playbill. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  42. ↑ "Openly Gay Actors". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2024-03-17. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  43. ↑ "LGBT Actors". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2024-11-27. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  44. ↑ "Notable LGBTQ Playwrights". QueerBio.com. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  45. 1 2 3 "Oscar Wilde | Biography, Books, & Facts". Britannica. Archived from the original on 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  46. 1 2 3 "Tennessee Williams | Plays, Education, Biography, & Facts". Britannica. Archived from the original on 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  47. 1 2 "Edward Albee | Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright". Britannica. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
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.