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

• David Pollock
• 18 October 2012

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.