Gaybies

Brisbane audiences will be treated to the exciting theatre work, Gaybies, which wowed them in Melbourne, and is part of the annual MELT festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse, 3 - 14 February.

MELT: A Celebration of Queer Arts and Culture promises theatre, music, dance, comedy, circus and cabaret, with Gaybies playing from 3 - 6 February.

Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush has raved about Gaybies, saying it "plays with a bold political premise and has an honest, ingenious sense of smart theatre." Developed by the Melbourne Theatre Company, written by Dean Bryant and directed by Kris Stewart, Gaybies features local actors and community members detailing real-life accounts of children raised in 'rainbow families' i.e. with same-sex parents, surrogate mums and donor dads.

Writer Bryant says that he was drawn to the subject because many people, when decrying the issue of same-sex marriage, say, "But what about the children?" The script is drawn from interviews with people who've grown up in rainbow families, with anyone aged four to 40 having their say.

The people of Melbourne gave Gaybies an immediate standing ovation on opening night, with Bryant saying, "The response... was gales of laughter. So it's very funny, and the authenticity means that it's really moving, because these are real people's experiences." The Age newspaper lauded the production - "It is rare, almost unprecedented, to find home grown political theatre with this degree of urgency and power on our main stages."

Other events as part of MELT 2016 include MELT Picnic, MELT Portrait Prize and MELT Beauty Pageant. And in view of the recent sad news of David Bowie's passing, a must-see is a live performance of the entire album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. View the full program online here.

Tickets: $19 preview, $39, $34 (concession) + transaction fee

BUY TICKETS HERE

By Vicki Englund