{"id":13409,"date":"2022-06-14T11:50:09","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T06:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetalentedindian.com\/?p=13409"},"modified":"2022-06-20T19:52:58","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T14:22:58","slug":"5-plays-that-impacted-queer-theatre-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetalentedindian.com\/5-plays-that-impacted-queer-theatre-history\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Plays that Impacted Queer Theatre History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Theatre has always been a space for conversations, art, representation, and revolutions. It has been used as a space for self expression and the creation of personal and different perspectives. Queer Theatre is a generic term for gay theatre, which covered musicals, plays, and dramas on and around the stories of gay people, their lives, struggles. During the inception of Queer Theatre, the plays unravelled the deep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetalentedindian.com\/love-identity-and-homosexuality-watch-short-film-new-normal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">homophobia<\/a> and heteronormativity in the society, which concealed the presence of the queer people. Queer Theatre History not only reflects the participation of the queer community as artists but also the social conditions they were living in. Queer plays and dramas were often banned under the tags of \u2018obscenity\u2019 and \u2018unacceptable\u2019. Censorship and State laws worked maliciously against gay writers and gay actors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Queer Theatre History is a window to the history of the queer community and the LGBTQ struggle. Here are some of these plays which affected queer theatre history:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-captive-by-edourad-bourdet-1926\"><strong>The Captive by Edourad Bourdet (1926)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Captive by \u00c9douard Bourdet was one of the first plays to portray lesbianism on Broadway when it was first performed in 1926. The three-act melodrama follows a young woman trying to forget her love for another woman by marrying a man who is deeply in love with her. However, the play was shut down after its 160th performance. The critics flagged it for indecency. This play prompted the adoption of a state law dealing with obscenity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Drag by Mae West (1927)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Written under the pen name of Jane Mast, The Drag first performed in 1927, Connecticut, is a 3-act drama-comedy play that follows Rolly, a gay man who marries a woman to hide his sexuality and the consequences of this. The Drag had a cast of exclusively gay actors from a Greenwich Village club. The play was a huge financial success. However, The Drag by Mae West saw major outrage for the depiction of homosexuality and cross-dressing and was banned for portrayal of indecency. It is one of the most significant plays in the queer theatre history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Boys in the band by Mart Crowly (1968)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>By the late 1960s, activists made a case for gay visibility and protection. The Boys in the Band, debuting off-Broadway at Theatre Four in 1968, was one of the first plays to place homosexuality as its central plot, majorly putting a spotlight on the struggles of homosexuals. It was frank and unapologetic; the brashness and honesty of the play proved to be a game changer and ran for 1001 performances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bent by Martin Sherman (1978)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sherman\u2019s play, Bent, was one of the first ones to showcase the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust period. It took the world by storm when it was first performed in the Royal Court Theatre in 1979, shocking the audience and shining light on the treatment towards homosexuals. The plot follows Max, a gay man taken to Dachau with his boyfriend after the Night of Long Knives. After his boyfriend is beaten to death, Max falls in love with another gay man in the camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Eve by Jo Clifford (2017)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Written by the successful trans woman, Jo Clifford, Eve is a story of a child who was raised as a boy but always knew that they were in the wrong skin. Growing up to become 2017\u2019s most Outstanding Women in Scotland, this is a story of Jo Clifford, herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While theatricals have been a stage for the privileged, it has also been an effective tool for the marginalised lot to express their identities and stories. When the queer community writes and presents their own stories and struggles, it pushes the hushed conversations into mainstream. Authentic, real life and raw first hand perspectives garnered the spotlight through theatre. The backlash that these plays suffered are a proof of the violence meted by people just for expressing their true identities. Even though, the queer community is coming up front in the society more strongly, heteronormativity and homophobia still lurk around. Queerbaiting and tokenism are prevalent, especially in the media, films, and theatres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The plays which shaped the Queer Theatre History and influenced the LGBTQ movement struggle, spotlighting the lives of the queer community. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9583],"tags":[9549,9556,9557,9551,9553,9555,9546,9552,9547,9548,9550],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.0 (Yoast SEO v22.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Plays that Impacted Queer Theatre History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The plays which shaped the Queer Theatre History and influenced the LGBTQ movement struggle, spotlighting the lives of the queer community.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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