By: Cory Nakasue

Montclaire, New Jersey (October 3, 2008) — DV8 Physical Theatre returned to the U.S. for the first time in 15 years to deliver a message-based piece of political theatre. Part oral history, sexual orientation travelogue, and documentary, To Be Straight with You examines intolerance, culture, religion, and homosexuality. The 80-minute piece is based on interviews of gay men and women from varying parts of the world who now live in the UK, members of the clergy, human rights organizations, and people opposed to homosexuality. The interviews are used verbatim; ether re-enacted by performers, the actual audio footage used as sound score or, most impressively, lip-synched to perfection. Lloyd Newson’s sinuous and painstakingly detailed choreography and Kit Monkmen and Tom Wexler’s ingenious use of video projection unite to deliver an impassioned plea for tolerance.

Those of us who follow DV8 are well aware of Lloyd Newson the provocateur — a man who has never met a controversial subject he didn’t immediately take under his wing and nurture by way of public dissection.  At times, it seems as if his raison d’etre is holding up a mirror to society and having us examine ourselves under harsh fluorescent lighting, leaving us to contemplate every blemish and eventually find the beauty in it.  Newson’s latest work, To Be Straight with You, is both a continuation of and a welcome departure from the DV8 mandate.

The DV8 oeuvre is no stranger to homosexuality, violence, and issues of bigotry against people “outside the mainstream.” Their most powerful work tends to come from raw theatricalizations brimming with sexuality that aims light in the dark corners of human behavior. Due to the source material, To Be Straight with You feels reigned in and reverent in comparison; perhaps it should. The people who shared these stories did so under great sacrifice. Many of these people live in fear of ridicule, physical abuse and, in some cases, death for simply being who they are. Their generosity is rewarded by this company’s sensitivity.

It is this strict reverence for the source material that is problematic within the piece. Half of the stories are spoken directly at the audience, presented as lectures, or projected word for word on a scrim. The effect is pedantic, with each story presenting another opportunity for a clever theatrical gimmick.  The tension between wanting to educate people, respecting the people who shared their stories, and creating a stunning piece of theatre is palpable.  For Lloyd Newson — a gay man who was in an interracial relationship during the inception of this piece — this is personal. It goes beyond provoking the general public and exploiting hot issues for shock value. Newson protects the ideas in this piece as a mother lion would protect her cub. The restraint shown here might be our first glimpse at Newson’s Achilles’ heel. He does care, after all, and he wants us to “get it.”

One could argue that this world could really use a lesson in tolerance when presented with the facts and statistics. In one of the most technologically stunning moments of the piece (and there were many), a globe is projected on a scrim in front of a performer. The performer uses hypnotic movements to turn this globe as he presents us with the laws governing the treatment of homosexuals in all areas of the world. Each time he touches a place on the globe where you can be imprisoned or put to death for being homosexual, it turns red. By the end of the lecture, he is trapped inside this red-splotched orb that spins out of control.

To Be Straight with You is not all chalkboards (though they were used to great effect) and news articles. The piece is most effective when the intrepid DV8 artistry is allowed to shine along with the overwhelmingly talented, multicultural cast of nine. Movement that is seamlessly woven into storytelling is one such example of this signature artistry. The stories that had most resonance were the ones that bore this stamp of authenticity. For example, one man’s story of what it means to be “normal” and “good” in the eyes of society and the Lord, and how deviation from the norm is a sign of evil, is undermined by a sinister group dance that is performed in diligent unison. The cavalcade of conformity rhythmically charged its way to the foot of the stage, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind as to their stance on where evil really lives.

Storytelling in its more conventional forms alternated throughout the evening. These richer, physical narratives combined with limited effort at using transitions create a gestalt. Amid the sparkling gems, there were duller castoffs. Make no mistake, though, clumsy transitions aside, the audience at Montclaire University was moved. They got it.