In several countries and and now one state, gay marriage has been legalised. The struggle for a global community has been long, hard and is still far from over. Within this issue, there is the inter-personal ramification of how we reinvent tradition to represent a new equality. It isn’t the marriage, the union itself that necessarily needs re-creation, but the nuts and bolts of the ceremony itself. The most powerfully gender structured event that seems insurmountable is surprising. It isn’t the vows, it isn’t the sensational kiss. It is the first dance.
In this new creation by Tottering Biped Theatre in conjunction with Lisa O’Connel from Pat the Dog, we see an astounding story of a groom (Trevor) and his best friend (Jeff) wander in and out of different dance styles, trying to find a suitable style to commemorate the union of Trevor with his husband to be. We wander in and out of dance styles, and in parallel, the clever and deeply moving story of two men comes forward. Through dance, The Dance, movement, and a period of nostalgic memory, we walk with these two through their youth, their coming out, their difficulty expressing their identity yet never backing down. There is pain, love, embarrassment, moments of intense longing. These two move through shared experience and times, sometimes before they met, but with the constant markers of having to push through huge challenges just to have the simplicity that is granted to those who are heteronormative.
The beauty of their friendship carries them through dance, nostalgia, pain and beauty until the showing of great negativity. The conflict arises and creates great strife among the two friends. The turmoil and angst felt in the audience drew tears, concern, and not for a second judgement within the conflict. Perhaps unsurprisingly, due to the extraordinary talent of the writers, the physical presence of the show and the brilliant text, the audience floats from nostalgic to the deepest level of hardship in the deepest kind of bond. In the end, we are transported through a lifetime of difficulty, struggle and finally critical acceptance, and in the end, the most magic moment happens. Even with the insurmountable troubles and difficulty, the most important message isn’t about the politics of the gay identity. It is about love.
Photo credit: Stefan Chirila
First Dance was produced through and promoted by Neruda Productions
See a short video of the first dance here:
