After a critically acclaimed season in Melbourne, Dean Bryant’s topical and thought-provokingGaybieswill be staged at the Eternity Playhouse as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.
Drawing from a broad spectrum of rainbow families, the play focuses on children who have grown up with same-sex parents. In gathering his material, Bryant conducted interviews with over 40 people – toddlers through to adults. Their responses have been woven into a script that forms the basis of a very funny and moving night of ‘real-life’ theatre.
A stellar ensemble will be bringing the Sydney production to life, including actor and musician Zindzi Okenyo. “I found the subject fascinating and it’s just a really lovely script,” she says. “I’ve done verbatim theatre before and I quite like it. We get to listen to the actual interviews and read transcripts. Then we try to capture the essence of that real person and make our own theatrical choices. It’s an interesting way to work as an actor.”
While it’s great to see homegrown theatre tackling big issues, it can also be difficult to strike the right balance between honouring personal stories and the inevitable politics that are involved. “Same-sex marriage is in the media a lot,” says Okenyo. “It’s always politicised and there can be a lot of negative connotations attached to it. The great thing about this play is that it’s very gentle and positive. I have a feeling people coming to the show will expect more of a political edge, but essentially it’s about families.”
The characters are at the forefront of the raw and minimally staged production. However, unlike traditional theatre – where character motivations and thought processes are ironed out – Gaybies demands that the actors work with what little they know and fill in the blanks. “I guess it’s a matter of transcribing the text in order to get the rhythm of the character,” says Okenyo. “For me, it’s about making sure I get across their opinions correctly. As an actor, with any character that you play, it’s important that you don’t judge them. It’s important that you say the things they say wholeheartedly and convey those beliefs.”
Rather than being overly earnest or moralising, it would appear that humour is sometimes a better means of reaching out to people. Gaybies aims to sidestep the politically correct in favour of a more intimate way of speaking. “I think often we’re arguing to try and prove that same-sex marriage is OK and that we’re all equal,” says Okenyo. “But often we’re making these statements for people who aren’t around gay people or aren’t engaged. I think what we can do is make things more relatable.”
With each actor playing multiple characters, the diversity of viewpoints should spark plenty of post-performance conversation.
“What’s interesting is how these kids who have grown up in same-sex families are so well-adjusted,” says Okenyo. “They’re very socially aware and politically aware. Maybe it comes from being aware of discrimination and being different. We do a section where we play little kids and the stuff they come out with is so insightful.”
That said, Okenyo also explains that much of the conflict within the play comes from broken family units, irrespective of sexuality. In this way, perhaps Gaybies revolves around what should be a non-issue: the fact that families are families, whoever your parents are.
Gaybies as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras fromFriday February 6 – Sunday March 8 atEternity Playhouse, tickets online.
