Glasgay! theatre round-up, including Harold and Maude, All That Promise and Dustin Lance Black's 8

Glasgay! theatre round-up, including Harold and Maude, All That Promise and Dustin Lance Black's 8

I Heart Alice Heart I

Already recognised as a festival not afraid of dealing with issues of sexuality in a challenging and unconventional manner, this year’s Glasgay! comes with its own political backdrop – the ongoing debate between the Scottish government and the Catholic church over the right of gay couples to marry – and many works have been created with this discussion in mind.

Perhaps most notable is 8 (Tron Theatre, 4 Nov), the first UK staging of the play by American screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (J Edgar, Milk) about the struggle to overturn Proposition 8, the controversial constitutional amendment that effectively outlawed gay marriage in California. Originally performed by a cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Martin Sheen, it will be staged by long-time Glasgay! associate Drew Taylor as a rehearsed reading for a cast of 17. Expanding on the same theme will be Any Objections? (Rose & Grants, 16–23 Oct), a series of rehearsed readings of ten-minute plays from around the world, giving an international perspective on the subject of gay marriage.

Elsewhere in the programme is All That Promise (CCA, 31 Oct), a piece about a reunited boy band who were famous in the 1990s, written by Colin Bell and directed by Johnny McKnight of Random Accomplice, and I Heart Alice Heart I (The Arches, 31 Oct–2 Nov), a play by writer-director Amy Conroy which explores the experience of being lesbian in Northern Ireland. There will be a performance cabaret from effervescent duo Tranny and Roseannah (Rose & Grants, 24–27 Oct), as well as the centrepiece event and main Glasgay! commission Harold and Maude (Tron Theatre, 30 Oct–3 Nov), in which director Kenny Miller revives 9 to 5 director Colin Higgins’ stage version of his screenplay for the cult 1971 movie which has plenty to say about society’s views on unconventional love.

Tranny & Roseannah: Frock On Frock Off!

Glasgay!

Twenty two years after it burst onto the scene, Glasgay! continues to test the limits of LGBT arts. Taking place across a variety of Glasgow venues each autumn, this performing and visual arts festival presents work that includes LGBTQI artists and engages with social issues as well as questions of identity, sexuality and…

8

A new play by Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J Edgar) about two couples who take on Proposition 8, the law that took away the right for LGBT couples to marry in California in 2008. Performed as a rehearsed reading.

Harold and Maude

A new staging by Theatre Jezebel of Colin Higgins' play, derived of course from the classic 1971 blackly comic film about the friendship between a teenager obsessed with death and a 79-year-old widow who sees the best in everything – even funerals.

Any Objections?

Rehearsed readings of a selection of ten-minute plays offering snapshots of civil rights around the world, from fullly equal, legal gay marriage to absolute denial of the existence of homosexuality.

All That Promise

A rehearsed reading directed by Johnny McKnight of a play about four men who formed a boy band in the 1990s and found fame and fortune before a controversial interview shattered the dream.

I Heart Alice Heart I

Documentary theatre from young company HotForTheatre, telling the love story of two women in their 60s, both called Alice. A sensitive exploration of a love that dare not speak its name.

Tranny & Roseannah

The eponymous ladies serve up their rather unique cabaret/reality TV makeover show, with acts such as Foxy & Husk and Lucy Hutson tackling topics from baking measurement conversions to conversion therapy for gay people.

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