Philip Venables, with his distinctive appearance of a nose ring, shaved head, and black hoodie, moves gracefully in one corner of the rehearsal studio, resembling a marionette manipulated by an invisible puppeteer. He is passionately conveying the desired tempo for a section of his score for The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions, an adaptation of Larry Mitchell’s underground manifesto-cum-fable. The production is set to premiere at the Manchester International Festival next week.
Published in 1977, Mitchell’s book draws inspiration from his own encounters with queer communal living and envisions the land of Ramrod, where the oppressive patriarchy is ridiculed, defied, and plotted against by the faggots and their allies, including faeries, faggatinas, and women who love women. Through their solidarity, these characters find the strength and humor to endure and overpower their oppressors.
Venables’ impromptu performance is so effective that the show’s musical director, Yshani Perinpanayagam, clad in socks with the word “Fuck” inscribed on the soles, requests him to showcase how the next section should sound. As the afternoon progresses, the music acquires a densely layered, grinding relentlessness. Director Ted Huffman, known for his collaboration with Venables on an opera based on Sarah Kane’s play 4:48 Psychosis, gathers everyone for a debriefing. He addresses the weary performers, assuring them that the piece’s metaphoric structure reflects the challenges of living in a male-dominated society. Huffman promises that in the following week, they will explore a lighter, gentler portion of the production.
The performers disperse, each clutching their respective instruments: accordion, cello, violin, and lute. Joy Smith exclaims, “I can get a low C,” to which Venables playfully responds, “Sounds a bit farty.”
Venables and Huffman’s previous works have not traditionally incorporated elements of lightness and gentleness. Their opera Denis & Katya in 2019 captured the online chaos surrounding the deaths of two Russian teenagers, while their abrasive adaptation of Kane’s play provoked panic attacks among audiences. However, The Faggots is intended to be more of a love-in than a landmine. Venables, seated next to Huffman on a lime-colored sofa, expresses his hope that the audience will feel embraced while inspiring a desire for change and a sense of inclusion. He portrays the production as a collaborative effort, saying, “Let’s do this together.”
When Venables discovered Mitchell’s book in 2013, he shared it with Huffman, recognizing its relevancy amidst the Brexit and Trump era. Huffman, a former child soprano who debuted in opera at the age of 12 performing with Pavarotti, states, “It made me see the world in a new way.” Venables agrees that the book resonates with its critique of the capitalist patriarchal system, but appreciates its empowering approach and the central role of the faggots in Mitchell’s world.
Huffman, responsible for the show’s text, expands on this idea of turning power dynamics upside down. He describes the production as unapologetically queer, emphasizing that men are portrayed as the deviation from the norm. In Mitchell’s book, the term “faggot” is reclaimed with whimsical delight, diverging from its confrontational usage by queer artists such as Larry Kramer. Huffman seeks to change the perception of the word, saying, “Can we change the feeling of it for that hour and a half?”
One of the challenges in adapting Mitchell’s book is finding a musical language that matches the written content. The prose possesses a sing-song, storybook quality, accompanied by Ned Asta’s intricate, Aubrey Beardsley-esque illustrations. To offset potential saccharine tones, Mitchell incorporates profanity and radical ideas. Huffman explains that they use popular idioms from different centuries to capture the book’s purposefully archaic, folksy beauty. The production blurs conventional notions of time by juxtaposing these idioms, creating an intriguing juxtaposition.
Venables’ music draws from the baroque tradition while incorporating modern and folk elements. The score blends period and contemporary instruments, even incorporating a bossa nova. Venables clarifies that the score is not meant to serve as a complete map of the production, akin to an opera. Instead, the cast, selected for their improvisational abilities, contributes to the communal music-making and theater experience. Performers switch instruments on stage and even sing, showcasing their versatility. Venables seeks to achieve “exquisite rather than perfect” results, aligning with Huffman’s belief that the emphasis on virtuosity in classical music neglects other aspects of performance.
The question of accessibility in opera and classical music remains a pressing concern. Huffman believes there is an untapped audience that could connect with these art forms if presented and created in a more engaging manner. He notes a recent exodus of potential audience members due to a lack of representation. Venables adds a more optimistic perspective, stating that companies are becoming aware of the need for new stories and alternative approaches, coinciding with a reevaluation of the canon and its values.
Although progress has been made, this era also sees renewed attacks on queer and transgender communities. Venables acknowledges the retrogressive backlash against trans rights but remains hopeful. He highlights one of the book’s strengths, which is trivializing the men and depicting larger systems as fleeting and insignificant. Huffman adds that the production aims to demonstrate that even small changes can be revolutionary.
The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions will premiere at the Manchester International Festival before moving on to festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Bregenzer Festspiele.
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