THE TEMPERAMENTALS
It was a kind of code language; a way of navigating the murky waters of a still deeply conservative America. Utilised by activist Harry Hay and his costume designer lover Rudi Gernreich (cue the closet jokes) in the 1948 formation of the first sustained LGBT rights organisation, the Mattachine Society, the term ‘temperamentals’ was early 20th century slang for ‘homosexual.’ The 2009 play of the same name by Jon Marans (Old Wicked Songs) follows the turbulent history of those seeking the freedom to love, long before the Stonewall riots of 1969 and the political wins of Harvey Milk in the 70s.
Kevin Jackson will direct this Mardi Gras-programmed production, and says of the script: “It’s not just a ‘history lesson’; it’s also a very funny and very moving study of human behaviours. Jon Marans deftly manages to cover both the public and the personal, bringing in many historical points of the Mattachine story whilst subtly weaving in the personal stories of the actual men: their struggles, in very unsympathetic times, with sexual identification and with the self-permission required to live the lives that they instinctively knew were their destiny and right.” (AB)
Feb 7-Mar 3, New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown, $15-30, 1300 131 188, newtheatre.org.au
