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By studying history, one becomes aware of this axiom: When a smaller group feels threatened by a larger, more powerful group, the former often resorts to guerrilla warfare, targeted killings or even terrorism to challenge their oppressors. Considering the long history of examples, would it be a surprise if people who are gay—whose history of being oppressed is long and staggeringly wretched—resorted to violence?
It’s a heavy thought, and the subject of “Angry Fags,” written by Topher Payne, presented by Ghostlight Ensemble Theatre Co. at Lifeline Theatre through November 23. Directed by Jack Bowes, the play is about two young gay men who bring a gun (or paint can, or chloroform) to a battle of words. They must decide how far they will go to satisfy their own righteous indignation regarding the highly prejudiced and dog-whistle-laden rhetoric and legislation produced by politicians.
In Georgia, a heated senate race takes place between incumbent Democrat Allison Haines (Catherine Councell), a lesbian who has ditched activism for political aspiration, and Peggy Musgrove (Ericka Ayche’le), a Black conservative woman. At Haines’ campaign office, staff members Kimberly Phillips (Jean E. Mueller-Burr) and Adam Lowell (Johnard Washington) are content to play the game of politics, citing the bigger picture as the end goal. But Haines’ speech writer, Bennett Riggs (Justin Broom), is sick of compromise when it means gay lives are at stake, and he and his roommate, Cooper Harlow (Rafael Gray López), decide to take justice into their own hands. The line between good guys and bad guys becomes blurred as the body count rises.
The play poses an interesting paradox: Does violence beget hate, or does hate beget violence? Local newscaster Deidre Preston (Sydney Genco) insists on covering all sides of the political spectrum equally, giving voice to progressive politicians and prejudiced pastors alike. Public slander against gay citizens sends Bennett into a rage. After the brutal murder of his ex-boyfriend, he and Cooper turn into the very degenerates that television talking heads claim them to be: One murder becomes two, then more, and their descent into madness ultimately leads them to turn on their own friends. Bennett and Cooper’s spree ends up having the opposite effect, inspiring the same hatred that they sought to rebel against, and a triple-twist, bloodbath climax leads to a surprising denouement that further muddies the juxtaposition of rational selfishness and politics.
The play brings nuance to black-and-white issues as well as ignorant beliefs. Musgrove, the bible-thumping conservative, comes off as the more caring and compassionate candidate, while Haines, the progressive, is cold and callous. The stereotype of the “happy gay” is obliterated, instead presenting the two protagonists, Bennett and Cooper, as multi-dimensional, full of love, anger and anxiety all at once. The audience must reconcile ethical questions like, “Are the low-level volunteers and janitorial crew at an organization run by bigots necessarily complicit in the beliefs of their managers?” These issues are presented in dialectic form to give attendees something to chew.
“Angry Fags” exists in a delicious gray area of morality, where the underdog gets hold of power and yet it goes wrong. The play’s greatest strength is its humanization of stereotypes—the idea that we all contain good and evil within us despite group affiliation. A broader message aligns with history: People under oppression will only put up with it for so long, and when they can’t take it anymore, their oppressors will face bloody retribution.
Ghostlight Ensemble Theatre Co. presents “Angry Fags” through November 23 at Lifeline Theatre, 6912 North Glenwood. Tickets are pay-what-you-will, with an average donation of $25, available at ghostlightensemble.com.
