Saturday, June 11 - 6:30 pm

CONTENT WARNING

Strong language, Mature content

THERE ARE NO GAYS IN CHECHNYA
PAGE1 THEATRE
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
60 minutes, mature content

Combining first hand testimony from a survivor currently living in Canada, as well as research collected over the past four years, this new work explores the ongoing gay purge in Chechnya. ​

In 2017, reports started to emerge about a gay-purge in the country of Chechnya. However, information became difficult to find because so few people were willing to speak out even after they fled. Almost five years later and only two survivors have spoke out publicly. One, after speaking at the UN, has been in hiding. The second, now lives in Toronto and has agreed to work with Page1 Theatre to tell their story. 

This work has been in development since 2018 with support from Canada Council and the Waterloo Regional Arts Fund. During that time we have completed research and spoke with survivors in Holland via a translator in the UK, as well as organized meetings with the survivor in Toronto. 

This staged reading will combine years of research and first hand testimony to speak directly about what is happening in Chechnya. While also providing folks with the opportunity to learn more about our plans for continued development, and a full production. 

This project is being supported by MTSpace.

CAST + CREATIVE TEAM

Isaac Mulè - Playwright/Director
Mallory Amirault - Performer
Lucas Popowich - Performer
Geneviève Steele - Performer
Garry Williams - Performer

ABOUT PAGE 1 THEATRE

​Page1 Theatre is a professional Queer Theatre company, established in Kitchener, ON. The company has been under the leadership of Isaac Mulè since 2015 and relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2021.  Our largest project is an annual Queer Theatre festival, OutFest. The festival includes a variety of staged performances from emerging and established artists. OutFest relaunched in April 2022 and included artists from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, as well as an opening night Two-Spirit Stage. 

In October 2019, Page1 began supporting Toronto, 1989 by playwright Aveleigh Keller. The project was selected to be part of TACTICS Online Development Workshop Series (Ottawa, ON), with a reading in August 2020. In addition, we launched Queer-prov, an improv comedy show in January 2020. We presented a concert-version of Queer Spawn (July 2019) by Kira Myers-Guiden and developed by Pat The Dog Theatre. We also presented SMASHES (November 2018) by Franny McCabe-Bennet. The Elephant Girls (March 2018) by Margo MacDonald, and in partnership with Classics at The Registry Theatre, Darren Creech, an award-winning queer classical pianist (October 2017).

This is our first time presenting with STAGES and working with EFT.

NOTES + THANK YOUS

We want to thank the survivors who have come forward to share their story with us. For trusting us with their words. Thank you to EFT, for including this work and allowing us to share and develop this story. We want to thank Canada Council and the Waterloo Arts Fund for supporting this project and for everyone attending the show. ​