New Theatre kicks off its 2024 season with the Australian premiere of a stunning queer play: Homos, or Everyone in America by Jordan Seavey, presented as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.
In a supposedly ‘post-gay’ America, a booze-infused date in a New York bar sets two men on a rollercoaster ride of lust, love and the messy stuff in between.
Taking place in Brooklyn and jumping around moments in time scattered between 2006 and 2011, this sexually blunt, emotionally raw and outrageously funny dramedy explodes the attitudes, desires and prejudices that sit at the heart of every relationship, gay or straight.
The age-old conflict between committed monogamy and sexual freedom must be navigated, the personal becomes the political, and we go deep into what it means to love to the point of heartbreak and beyond.
Directed by Alex Kendall Robson, whose previous production for New Theatre was the zany queer romp Bathhouse: the Musical as part of Sydney Fringe, Homos, or Everyone in America features a cast of four, all New Theatre debutantes, including Axel Berecry, recent WAAPA graduate Lucy Lock, Edward O’Leary and Reuben Solomon.
“This play is just so captivating. It is both epic in scope and incredibly intimate. Whilst it focuses on the ups and downs, the ins and outs, of a relationship between two gay men, from there we can zoom out and reflect on how far we have come with gay rights, whilst also acknowledging those timeless things like love, lust and community,” said Alex.
“Over the past few years, I’ve found myself directing a lot of classical theatre (most recently my own adaption of The Government Inspector), so I leapt at the opportunity to do something contemporary. But this play is also somewhat Shakespearean in scope, as it leaps through time and space and back again. And it’s great to be back doing queer work at the New! “
“This play is one hell of a journey. The actors almost never leave the stage, so you are swept along as the characters’ lives and loves ebb and flow. I don’t think we’ve done a read-through of the script without me, the jaded old cynic that I am, choking up.”
“Audiences will leave the theatre having experienced something extraordinary. This play talks a lot about community, and to be able to share this play, during Mardi Gras, is really something very special,” said Alex.
Jordan Seavey is an American playwright, hailing from New York city. His plays include Homos, or Everyone in America (New York Times Critic’s Pick; named one of New York Magazine‘s 10 Best Theatre Events of 2016 and The Advocate‘s Top 10 New York Theatre of 2016), November 4th 2008, Wight, The Funny Pain, The Truth Will Out, Children at Play, 6969 and This is a Newspaper.
Since 2003 he’s co-created more than fifteen new plays with theatre company CollaborationTown. These include Candy (a commission from LCT3 / Lincoln Center), the all-ages puppet musical Riddle of the Trilobites (as residents of New Victory Theatre’s LabWorks), Family Play (1979 to Present) (named one of The Advocate‘s 10 Best LGBT Plays of 2014), and The Momentum (2012 GLAAD National Media Award nomination).
“A daringly frank, funny and affecting play” – The New York Times
Director: Alex Kendall Robson | Featuring: Axel Belecry, Lucy Lock, Edward O’Leary, Reuben Solomon | Production Designer: Zara Pittoni | Sound Designer: David Wilson | Cultural Consultant: Paris Freed | Intimacy Coordinator: Sonya Kerr | Stage Manager: Lilly McMahon
Homos, or Everyone in America
New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown
Season: 7 February – 9 March 2024 (preview: 6 February
Information and Bookings: www.newtheatre.org.au
Image: © Zlata Kibalko/Shutterstock