The Pride

I just finished reading a wonderful play called THE PRIDE by Alexi Kay Campbell (published in 2008) which About Face is producing the Chicago premiere of this summer with some of my favorite actors. In the script, there are two characters that recount mystical experiences in which they hear voices; these two characters are both gay Londoners, share the name Oliver, and are meant to be portrayed by the same actor.

The first Oliver lives in 1958 when homosexuality was considered a mental illness and grotesque lifestyle. While travelling in Greece, Oliver visits Delphi – famously known as the home of the oracle in the Oedipus Trilogy – he has a comforting “epiphany” in which a voice says "everything [is] going to be all right.”  The second Oliver lives in 2008. However, the voice that he hears knows him by name and calls him into sordid situations in which he relapses to his sexual addiction of having anonymous hook-ups. Despite his inability to successfully combat his addiction, he finds hope in the future through human connection and an internal recognition with another person, his boyfriend. In the span of 50 years, the Olivers 50 find acceptance in society and within themselves. The world is changing and “one day, maybe many, many years from now, there will be an understanding of certain things, a deeper understanding of certain aspects of our natures that would make all the difficulties we now feel, all the fears we now hold onto and the sleepless nights we now have seem almost worthwhile… And that the people who live in those times, be it fifty or five hundred years from now will be happy with that understanding and wiser for it. Better.”

I felt a deep connection to this play and especially this more supernatural element. I think whatever force that connected these characters is present in my life as well. I've always believed I would be all right if I took steps towards being true to myself. It wasn't a voice (which is a nice theatrical, magical touch for the play) that spoke to me, but it was my own thoughts and hopes of what could be - not just as a gay man, but as a human being. The fact that these two characters found internal peace and acceptance despite the turmoil comforts me. It makes me believe that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Also, it’s nice to know that Alexi Kay Campbell recognizes (and beautifully manifests) this feeling I have never been able to fully articulate. It helps me not feel alone – and that gives me hope and peace.