Berto_Tony_201307_PhD .pdf - University of Guelph

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Chapter Six: Conclusions, Implications and New Directions
This dissertation began by asking questions about how homosexuality is presented
in our contemporary theatre. Historical antipathies have marginalised the theatrical
presentations of gay men on stage in the past, and over the last century a change has
occurred in the social location of gay men in Canada (from being marginalised to being
included). In this thesis I consider the kinds of representations we find on our stages now, in
this century. I explore whether these representations have evolved in step with the changes
in gay men’s social location, or whether some theatrical representations of gay men remain
marginalised in various ways. Given antipathies towards homosexuality and homophobia
have the potential to affect theatrical production most where financial risk is highest, I
propose that where there are significant commercial interests in theatrical production
(usually in mainstream theatre), gay representations are more likely to be marginalised.
Furthermore, given that gay sex itself, and its representation on stage (through embodied
homosexualities or discourses and narratives of gay sex) have been theorised as a locus of
antipathies to gayness, I propose that the sexual aspects of gay representations vary in their
visibility and overtness depending on the production’s proximity to the mainstream.
The analysis of these four plays shows general trends, not only in the plays’
construction but also in the material conditions of their productions, that indicate the gay
representations become more overt, visible and sexually explicit the further from the
mainstream they are presented, indicating a correlation between the representation and its
location. I identify various factors – including the development of the script, the producing
theatre, venue, and promotion of the production, that shape gay representation. This
analysis reveals how theatrical practices originating in the last century, practices that may