DV8 Physical Theatre’s “Straight Talk”
DV8 Physical Theatre’s “To Be Straight With You” tells it like it is for gay men from Jamaica to Islam to the UK. Based on 85 interviews conducted in London, the piece uses speakers’ words to address the complex relationship between religion and homosexuality. In his characteristically commendable manner, director Lloyd Newson blends fierce physicality with serious social issues that directly impact the body and psyche. His unique style of dance theatre has made him popular since he started working in the mid-‘80s, yet despite its overt political message, the show at Montclair State University’s Alexander Kasser Theatre October 3-5 broke little new ground. The clashes between religious belief and human logic surrounding the issue of same-sex relations were most likely not news to this audience, and while the emphasis on Islam did add an immediate urgency, the desired call to action remained unclear. Still, the work was stunningly executed and certainly beyond mere physical entertainment.
The opening scene set an instructional tone. A man wearing an iPod speaks in a Jamaican accent while others behind him write on a chalkboard and draw connective arrows to the phrase “batty man,” a derogatory term for gay male. The piece proceeds, with impressive video projections, as a series of textual monologues with varying numbers of performers. In one particularly effective moment, a white DJ relays how his use of “murder music” strikes back at these records’ homophobic message when gay Jamaican club goers dance to them, yet he notes he is criticized for this freedom—Jamaicans cannot take this risk as DJs themselves. In another physically animated scene, the impressive Ankur Bahl jumps rope while telling a 15-year-old Muslim’s coming-out story of family violence and escape. The show’s last scene is an ecstatic one in which the devout gay narrator concludes: No one can judge, “it’s between me and God now.” Personal power and surrender get the final word.
DV8 Physical Theatre’s To Be Straight With You.
Photo by Matt Nettheim
Despite the heavy reliance on text, the performers’ physicality was bold and full-bodied, even in the simplest gestures. Sexy and unashamed, it left a longing for more physical exploration of the topic so that the unspoken aspects of persecution could resonate. While Newson resists dance as too beautiful to deal with political issues, claiming instead to be interested in “movement,” past works have not shied away from what the body can say, and in comparison, this work felt incomplete.
One other element was glaringly under-explored. In true liberal fashion, “To Be Straight With You” presented both gay and straight male perspectives, yet the female perspective on homosexuality was an aside rather than an integrated component. The three scenes that included women did not stray far from the issue of physical abuse. Women in this piece get short shrift, yet is the situation for them any less dire?
It is hard not to compare the use of oral histories and mixture of race, sexual orientation and politics to the work of Bill T. Jones, whose “Still/Here” also presented the voices of interviewees (and their images as well). However, “To Be Straight With You” maintains a distance from its subjects and thus does not invoke the “victim art” label wielded by Arlene Croche. The downside of this strategy is that the piece lacks differentiation. The unique perspectives of age, experience and even race tend to merge together into a unified whole, and the club beat of much of the music aided this homogeneity. Newson has set a high bar with his past work and quite admirably continues to tackle challenging issues. This beautifully executed and appreciated work remains rooted in the gay male perspective—not that there’s anything wrong with that.