Gender, Sexuality and Theatre To Become The Ideological Function of Gay Theatre

Abstract

Since Canadian Theatre Review published a special issue on homosexuality and Canadian theatre in 1976, the changes in gay life in North America have been enormous. While the social stigmatization of homosexuality and the concomitant oppression of lesbian and gay peoples still exists as much in Canada as in other countries, the gains of the gay liberation movement, both here and around the world, have led more Canadian artists to openly address the impact and significance of homosexuality in and on their work. Discussing the topic in a panel organized by CTR in 1975, playwright and director John Palmer stated an attitude prevalent amongst gay people working in Canadian theatre at that time: “Nobody minds that you are gay… . As long as it isn’t mentioned” (Freed 12). And Ed Jackson, then arts editor for The Body Politic, Canada’s national gay magazine, which has since closed its doors, answered the question “Could a gay theatre get funding?” by adroitly assessing the situation of gay theatre in Canada then and now: “I think you would have to try twice as hard… . There are always people who will jump on a government funding agency for giving money to homosexuals. They’ve done it in the past and they’ll continue to do it for some time … (Freed 12). Jackson also acknowledged, however, that “Things have changed, and are continuing to change. That’s why it might now be possible to have a gay theatre here” (Freed 11).