Composer Philip Venables and director Ted Huffman’s previous shows have caused panic attacks. How will The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions go down? Ahead of its premiere, the duo talk f-words, love-ins and the capitalist patriarchy.
Philip Venables – nose ring, shaved head, black hoodie – is prancing in one corner of the rehearsal studio like a marionette yanked around by an unseen puppeteer. It is all part of the British composer’s efforts to convey to the 15-strong company the desired tempo for this section of his score for The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions, which premieres at the Manchester international festival next week. Adapted from Larry Mitchell’s underground manifesto-cum-fable, published in 1977 and inspired by the author’s experiences of queer communal living, it is set in the land of Ramrod, where the tyrannical patriarchy (the men) is mocked, defied and plotted against by the faggots and their friends, who include the faeries, the faggatinas and the women who love women.
Through their solidarity, they find the strength, as well as the silliness, to endure and overwhelm their oppressors. Venables nods in agreement: “The way it talks about the capitalist patriarchal system we’re all trapped in really resonates,” he adds. “But it’s done through this magical, positive, empowering approach where the faggots are central to this world. That’s the POV of the book.” Huffman, who is also responsible for the show’s text, takes up the idea: “It’s unapologetically queer. The power relationship is turned on its head. Men are the aberration of faggots. Everyone starts out as a faggot, and it’s the men who have a sickness of the mind.”
“I think we’re coming to a golden age because companies are waking up to the need for new stories, and new ways to express old stories, and that’s going hand-in-hand with other changes, such as re-examining the canon and its values.”
More worryingly, this is also an era of renewed attacks on queer and transgender people – exactly what Mitchell’s book predicted would happen once those communities gained any ground. “The backlash against trans rights feels retrogressive,” says Venables. “But I’m hopeful. One thing the book does so well is to trivialise the men. It does what big astronomy does – it makes you feel very small, and that capitalism, religion, the monarchy and the patriarchy, all those things that constantly work against us, are children’s games. They will pass.” Huffman smiles and adds: “I want the audience to see that even small changes can be revolutionary.”
Article URL : https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jun/26/faggots-friends-revolution-manchester-queerest