Calling all StageSiders, welcome back to another article here at StageSideUK. This time around we are talking about queer theatre, and specifically, the idea that it’s somehow only meant for queer people. It’s a myth that keeps cropping up, and honestly, it’s one worth pulling apart. So settle in and lets unpick this one!
When did any of us last go to the theatre and only connect with stories that were directly about our own lives? We watch plays set in different centuries. We sit with characters from cultures we’ve never experienced. We cry at stories about grief, war, love, and loss that bear almost no resemblance to our own circumstances. And that’s the entire point of theatre.
So why would queer theatre be any different?
The assumption that it’s niche, or that it’s only speaking to one super segmented audience, misunderstands what queer stories are actually doing. They’re not presenting a world that only makes sense if you’re already inside it. They’re presenting human experiences to people who may not know what it is like to expereince queer challenges or success. We are talking the fear of not being accepted, the relief of finding people who get you, the exhaustion of hiding parts of yourself, the joy that comes when you stop. Queer theatre shows this through a certain lens, for audiences who aren’t queer. It’s an invitation.
You don’t have to have lived an experience to connect with it when theatre puts it in front of you. That’s what good writing does. That’s what good performance does. It closes the distance and gives you a moment to follow that path.
There’s also something worth saying about what theatre does that media styles struggle to replicate. When you’re sitting in a dark room with a character for two hours, something shifts. It’s not like reading a statistic or scrolling past a headline. You’re in it. And when the lights come back up, you carry a little of it with you. You gain a connection to a perspective that wasn’t yours before. That’s not theatre being earnest or educational. That’s just theatre doing its job.
Queer theatre, at its best, does exactly that. And it doesn’t require anything from audiences except a willingness to show up and actually pay attention. It doesn’t have to be preachy, overwhelming or intensely militant. Sometimes it is a good story with a queer element, sometimes it isn’t even about queer people at all, rather the lack thereof.
So if you’re looking at a specific pride programme at a local theatre and thinking any of it isn’t for you, I would challenge that. Some of the most memorable nights in a theatre are the ones where you knew nothing about the world you were walking into. That unfamiliarity isn’t a reason to stay away. It’s usually a reason to go.
Have your say!
As always, we want to hear from you. So let’s get a chat going in the comments. What queer theatre have you seen that stayed with you? Let us know!
As always, please be respectful of each other’s opinions and be kind to each other.
Bullying will not be tolerated and harmful language may be removed.
Head over to the Terms and conditions page to learn more about our policies, here at StageSideUK.
Follow us on Twitter and give our page a like on Facebook.