Belfast-based theatre company Kabosh will be performing a play celebrating the fearless early campaigners who fought for gay rights at a time when homosexuality was illegal.
Callings celebrates the activism of the dedicated people who set up the helpline Cara-Friend 50 years ago to offer support and friendship to gay people living in fear of the State.
Now Kabosh marks this special anniversary with a UK and Ireland-wide tour of this highly acclaimed play.
The drama, written by 2023 Lyric playwright in residence, Dominic Montague, is set in the offices of Cara-Friend in University Street five years after the helpline was set up, when the North of Ireland was the only part of the UK where homosexuality was still a criminal offence.
Dominic said it was an opportune moment to highlight the themes in this important drama at a time when the LBGTQIA+ community is again being targeted and abused by reactionary forces.
“Cara Friend is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago, its founding principles of community and connection just as vital. In increasingly divisive times, remembering our past is an important reminder that we can shape the future. There are still many fights to be won.”
As volunteers answer calls from a succession of anxious people trying to come to terms with their sexuality, the witty and poetic script delves into the dark, repressive days when gay people lived in fear of arrest, of losing their jobs and of being disowned by loved ones.
Throughout the play the protagonists maintain a sense of humour and solidarity in adversity as the Kafkaesque forces of the state seek to interfere in their private lives.
Interspersed with some popular tunes of the day, they talk of their need for positive role models, heroes and stories of gay people ‘out there, changing the world.’
Callings is steeped in the atmosphere of the late 70’s and early 80’s and those of a certain age will enjoy references to Belfast’s underground gay scene – the Saturday disco at Queen’s, parties in the Club Bar and discos in the Royal Avenue Hotel.
It was a time of changing attitudes. In 1979 gay rights campaigner Jeffrey Dudgeon had successfully taken a case to decriminalise homosexuality in Northern Ireland to the European Court of Human Rights. He won his case in 1981 and the law was changed a year later to bring it in line with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Opponents from the Save Ulster from Sodomy campaign led by Ian Paisley under his twin leadership of the Free Presbyterian Church and Democratic Unionist Party, were doing everything in their power to prevent modernisation of the law.
A number of events are planned to celebrate a half century of the Cara-Friend service including an LGBTQIA+ Heritage and History Symposium on Saturday, October 12 at Queens University.
Cara-Friend is also planning an exhibition of photos and interviews taken with founding members and volunteers from the 1970s to 1980s. This exhibition will share the stories of their heroic activism throughout some of the darkest days for LGBTQIA+ people in Northern Ireland, during the height of the Troubles.
The full Show Schedule is: Lyric Theatre, Belfast: Wed 2 Oct – Sun 6 Oct; The MAC Birmingham, 10 – 11 Oct; Stanley Arts London: 16-17 Oct; Chats Palace London: 18–19 Oct; Hawkswell Sligo: 23 Oct; Market Place Armagh: 24 Oct; Riverbank Kildare: 25 Oct; Down Arts Centre: 26 Oct; Droichead, Drogheda: 2 Nov; Garage, Monaghan, 3 Nov, finishing at Project Arts Centre, Dublin: 6-9 Nov.
For more information on the production and to get tickets go to www.kabosh.net
To find out more about the services offered by Cara-Friend visit www.cara-friend.org.uk
