The Big interview Lloyd Newson Steps of worship e like to think we exist in live-and-let- love times but if we scratch beneath the surface, are we just kidding ourselves? Lloyd Newson, director of DV8 Physical Theatre, has no doubt. Nelson Mandela said black oppression and gay oppression are the same thing, he says. In over 80 countries around the world, same-sex relationships are still against the law. So when a gay imam, a lesbian rabbi and a skipping Muslim teenager take to the stage to tell their troubled stories in DV8s To Be Straight With You, the world suddenly feels like a much less liberated place. A subversively comic examination of how religion is increasingly used around the globe as a means of justifying homophobia, To Be Straight With You teems with tales that are bloody, heartbreaking and straight to the point. And every word is true. We carried out face-to-face interviews in order to research the stories we tell in the show, says Newson. All were doing is putting on stage what weve found. The result is a show that blurs the boundaries of dance, drama and documentary. Straight- to-audience confessionals from the characters are performed with a sharp mixture of movement, comedy and film. That mix typifies how tough DV8 is to characterise. Newson and controversy have gone hand-in-hand over the two decades since he burst on to the scene with My Sex, Our Dance: a powerful W male duet forged in the white heat of Aids hysteria during the 1980s. 1988s Dead Dreams Of Monochrome Men based on the life of serial killer Dennis Nilsen caused a tabloid frenzy and, with its talk of batty boys and religious intolerance, To Be Straight With You doesnt shy away from controversy either. I was getting more and more concerned over the resurgence of religion and the way that people were interpreting religious texts in any way they wanted in order to inflict their moral codes on others, says Newson. It seemed to me that the world had taken a huge step backwards. In the wrong hands, this kind of material could become politically correct, dry-as-dust polemic. But Newson has a knack for mining dark humour and impressive physical theatrics from even the darkest corners of the soul. In To Be Straight With You, his versatile band of performers take on the personae of the interviewees, adding a highly personal edge to the tales of suffering and survival they are relaying. Its a show about sex but theres not a lot of sex in it, he says. The whole piece is about empathy: how do we get people to understand what its like to never be able to hold their partners hand in public? So many people inflict self-censorship on themselves. Keenly aware that tales of sexual intolerance could seem at odds with the liberal times we supposedly live in, Newson reacts to news as it happens and added a segment based on the scandal sparked by a BBC Radio Ulster phone-in show in 2008 when Northern Irish MP Iris Robinson condemned homosexuality as an abomination. Commenting on the assault of a gay man in Newtownabbey, Robinson, the wife of the Northern Ireland first minister, Peter Robinson, suggested gays could be turned around if they had psychiatric help. To Be Straight With You includes a map of the world projected on to a screen, highlighting the most extreme areas of sexual intolerance. Newson knows that when you point fingers, you can make enemies. We had to take all kinds of legal advice with this show, it meant getting into risk assessments and insurance, he reveals. You cant rule anything out. But people need to be made aware of what is going on. We have a duty to protect people, such as gay Muslims, because if we dont, theres a real danger they just become invisible to society. For him, invisibility is not an option. Religious people have taken it on themselves to proscribe how others should live, he points out. They feel empowered to tell people how to live based on books that were written when it was believed the world was flat. Yet we are so hypersensitive about upsetting religions... He doesnt need to finish the sentence his outrage does it for him. Newson is still angry after all these years, and firing on all cylinders. To Be Straight With You runs until Sat, OReilly Theatre, Belvedere College, Little Denmark St D1, 7.30pm (mat Sat 2.30pm), 25 to 35. Tel: (01) 677 8439. www. dublintheatrefestival.com Newson reacts to news as it happens and added a segment based on the [Iris Robinson] scandal sparked by a Radio Ulster phone-in show A challenging piece of work by the director of DV8 aims to highlight how some people use religion to rationialise homophobia, as Keith Watson finds out DOWN THE DUMPER... This weeks fickle finger of fame pokes Sophie Reade The Black Seeds In Town Tonight Good time funk and roots reggae eight-piece from New Zealand, who blend party-starting Afrobeat, dub and soul. Support is Berlin- based dark dub act Braintheft Tonight, Whelans, 25 Wexford Street D2, 8pm, 15 to 20. Tel: (01) 478 0766. www.myspace.com/ theblackseeds Slat The nature/nurture debate is explored in this live music, movement and art show boasting a mix of Japanese butoh dancing, design by RHA artist Alice Maher and a band commandeered by composer Trevor Knight Until Sun, Smock Alley Theatre, 8 Lower Exchange Street D8, 9pm (Sun 5pm), 18 to 25. Tel: (01) 677 8439. www.dublintheatrefestival.com Water Colour Society Exhibition Now in its 155th year, the Water Colour Society Of Irelands annual exhibition presents more than 300 paintings in watercolour, gouache and pastels, plus drawings and prints Until Oct 10, Concourse Arts Centre, County Hall, Dn Laoghaire, Co Dublin, daily 10am to 5pm, free. Tel: (01) 494 3136. www.watercoloursocietyofireland.ie metro Arts & Entertainment life Book Now Modest Mouse In 2007, hire-a-help guitarist Johnny Marr set sail on the good ship Modest Mouse, co-writing songs and playing guitar on their nautical- tinged album We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. Two years on, the ex-Smiths strummer, while also moonlighting with The Cribs, is still very much a part of the Seattle crew and features on their current EP No Ones First, And Youre Next, a collection of B- sides and unreleased material. Word has it theyll be back in studio recording new material soon, but first things first a one-off Ireland gig and a smattering of UK dates Dec 7, The Academy, 57 Middle Abbey Street D1, 8pm, 27. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.modestmouse.com 12 metrolife Wednesday, September 30, 2009 May 1989: Born. 2007: Becomes topless model. Her other work includes promotions, ie standing around car trade shows in a bikini. She has surgery to increase her bust size to 30GG and appears in an advert supposedly encouraging young people to enter the catering profession featuring Sophie in a bikini covered in cream. She also takes her clothes off for the British edition of Playboy. May 2009: Enters Big Brother house. A star is born! June 2009: Has in-house Big Brother romance with perm-headed window-dresser Kris, pals up with screeching Scottish party girl Karly, changes her name to Dogface and gets drunk several times. July 2009: More of the same but few see her do it as viewing figures reached an all-time low of around 1million per episode. Told racy Nirn shed had sex with Kris. August 2009: Big Brother shows her a magazine article which suggests Sophie might be pregnant after having sex with Kris. She immediately insists she made it up. The hoTTesT TickeTs in Town We have a pair of tickets to see MODEST MOUSE Dec 7 at The Academy, 8pm For a chance to win, e-mail your answer to the question below to life@metroireland.ie by noon today with Hot Tickets in the subject line. With your answer please include your name, address and a number where you can be contacted between 1pm and 3pm. Strictly one entry per person; entrants must be age 18+. Q. Which late actor conceived the idea for Modest Mouses King Rat music video? A. Heath Ledger B. Brad Renfro The winners of yesterdays tickets to see the Dublin Gospel Choir are: John OKane, Caoimhe OCallaghan & Sheamus Brady index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html