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After several male-focused plays – including The Boys In The Band, Fortune And Men’s Eyes and Tales Of The Parkside – Buddies artistic director David Oiye shifts to a dyke work, Frank Marcus’s 1965 The Killing Of Sister George. But maybe “dyke” isn’t the rightword. In that pre-Stonewall era, even the word “lesbian” isn’t used to describe the relationship between the two central figures. Theirs is very much the love that dares not speak its name, though their relationship is clearly butch/fem.
“It’s important to do readings of works like these for archival purposes, even if they seem stereotypes today,” notes Oiye, who’s directing tonight’s performance.
“What we stage during the rest of the year is alternative, aggressive and sexual, but Pride Week is a time to look back at the history of the queer community.
“That glimpse of the past is just as important as the leather events and the circuit parties.”
