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LGBTQ theatre (also known asgay theatre,lesbian theatre orqueer theatre) is theatre that is based on the lives ofgay and lesbian people and their culture. Some LGBTQ theatre is specifically about the experiences ofgay men orlesbian women.[1] Collectively, LGBTQ theatre forms part ofLGBTQ culture.
Famous examples of LGBTQ theatre include the musicalRent byJonathan Larson and the playBent byMartin Sherman.
InAncient 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. InAristophanes' playThe 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 theIliad isAchilles 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.
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 "commitsodomy" 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 ofShakespeare, 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]
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 ofOff-Off Broadway, whereThe 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 onOff-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 onBroadway was performed.La Cage aux Folles was a musical based on the 1978 movieLa 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 theTony Award for Best Musical in 1984. It was performed 1,761 times, and was revived in the fall of 2004.[14]
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 theAIDS 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 beingRent, 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 thatRent produced allowed for a range of LGBTQ productions to be performed across the world. Subsequent notable American LGBTQ musicals includeFun Home,The Prom, andA Strange Loop.
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 theNew York Times came out, where people submitted stories about how they heard aboutThe Boys in the Band, and how it affected them. The play was revived for its fiftieth anniversary in 2018 with a cast includingMatt Bomer,Jim Parsons, andZachary 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 andTorch Song Trilogy.[11]
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.
LGBTQ theatre is generally less prominent in Asia than in other continents.[18]
The tradition of men playing women's roles has a "long history" in the theatrical traditions of South Asia, being mentioned both inPatanjali'sMahabhasya and in theNatyaShastra. In contemporary tradition, female impersonation is still practiced in the dance/theatre forms ofKathakali (Kerala) andRamlila (Uttar Pradesh), among others, but has "vanished from the urban cultural zone".[19]
WithinTaiwan, conservatism is still widely present which represses many citizens in general but especially those of the LGBTQ community.[18] However, since the lifting ofmartial 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 wasLai 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 fromAIDS. He would use theatre to fight homophobia as well as stigma against AIDS during times of extremeconservatism.[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 ofWhitewater andLegend of the white snake, which were both centered aroundhomoerotic love, which was an unseen public topic during the 1990s.[18] Even after Tian ChiYuan's death, people would continue to create adaptations ofWhitewater because of its symbolism of queer trauma and people wanted that legacy to continue, because of his amazing influence in LGBTQ theatre.
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]
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 ofdrag.[13]
Following an end to theatre censorship following theSinging 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]
SomeShakespeare plays have been identified as having LGBTQ themes, such asAs You Like It andTwelfth Night,[22] both of which have female characters whocrossdress as men and enter into flirtatious interactions with women.
In the UK, restrictions on LGBTQ theatre existed into the 20th century. TheLord Chamberlain was empowered by theLicensing 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.
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]
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 includeRent, an LGBTQ story written in 2005 by Chris Columbus about the contracting of AIDS and the controversy surrounding it, orThe 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 justBroadway, 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 andtransgender 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.
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]
LGBTQ theater has faced backlash from audiences and critics for over a century. The backlash against LGBTQ theater ranges from physical tofinancial 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 likeRent and plays likeAngels in America.[27][28]
Some backlashes against LGBTQ theater relate to the withdrawal offinancial 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]
In December 1935, authorities in Boston declared that the playThe Children's Hour did not meet the standards of theWatch 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 theACLU,[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 forThe Children's Hour in Chicago.[30]: 50 [34]
In March 1970, when the playThe Boys in the Band was staged in theBlack Box Theater at theAtlanta Memorial Arts Center, theFulton 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 atBuckhead Theatre in 1976.
The 1996 premiere ofAngels in America inCharlotte, 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, atFlorida'sDuval County Public Schools in January 2023, administrators stopped production of the playIndecent, 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 playMarian after adults protested over its depiction of a same-sex couple and a non-binary character.[37]
In November 2022, performances of a children's play at a theatre in the Southern Russian city ofNovosibirsk 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 fromThe Princess and The Ogre as two men.
In June 2018, theHungarian State Opera canceled over a dozen performances of the musicalBilly Elliot after a newspaper columnist accused the production of being "gay propaganda."[40] A June 1 column by Zsofia N. Horvath in the conservative paperMagyar 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]
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.
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