Blending storytelling with live music, this confronting play delves into the gay hate-crime epidemic that blighted Australia, and the relevance this piece of queer history still has today.
With simple and effective staging, Member takes an unflinching look at homophobia and its deep-rooted grasp. Ben Noble plays Corey, an initially likeable bear of a man, who is waiting by the bedside of his 17-year old son. Expertly underscored by Simone Seales on cello, this monologue play builds relentlessly to a hard-hitting and shocking climax.
At times the piece is uncomfortably intimate, which is wholly appropriate and contributes to a pressure-cooker feel. Noble is a thoughtful and skilled performer, with strong characterisations for both his narrator and others in the story. The hateful rhetoric that is introduced comes first as “banter” – so often the way that such conduct is minimised and excused – but is soon shown in a darker, more insidious light.
The conflict in Corey’s attitudes are stark and unsettling. Recounting his childhood experiences, being forced to participate in horrific hate-crimes at an early age, his world view is warped beyond measure. The need to belong, to be part of something, gradually twists his outlook, with a devastatingly pertinent reflection of how young men in particular can be radicalised. Masculinity is in the cross-hairs, with Corey referring to his son as “a real boy” when he played sports, and his assertion that having a gay child is a reflection on him.
What is most shocking about Member is that it draws on real events as the backdrop for one man’s story. The prevalence of “gay-bashing” over three decades in Australia, leading to the maming and murder of countless men perceived to be gay, is absolutely factual. Many of the deaths were dismissed as suicides by a disinterested police force, many of whom likely held similar views to the perpetrators.
This is a dark, disturbing piece of theatre that demands your attention throughout. It is not a play to sit back and enjoy, rather it is uncompromising, urgent and vital.
By Deborah Klayman
Member plays at Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh until 28th August 2023.