Standing on Ceremony – The Gay Marriage Plays

Overview

Where better to put on a show about gay marriage than Chapel Off Chapel? Though Standing on Ceremony began its life in New York following the legislation of same sex unions in 2011, this old church in Prahran that now enjoys a vibrant new life as a theatre, seems the perfect venue for exploring the changing face of marriage in Australia.

The show comprises nine short plays from American playwrights, including celebrated writers such as Neil LaBute (The Shape of Things; Reasons to be Pretty) and Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries). In America, it seems to have been often performed as dramatised readings, but this local version is a full theatrical production smartly put together with careful attention to detail in costume and effective use of lighting and rear projection. The cast includes some recognisable names too, including Michael Veitch, Pia Miranda and Spencer McLaren — they’re a charismatic bunch who come together to create believable and endearing couples. While the plays are all very American — the days when anything like this can be written about Australian experiences being still, sigh, delayed — the actors do a good job of capturing American cadences and attitudes.

With a live band playing jazz and funky pop covers between plays, there is a party vibe that's similar to attending an actual wedding in the Chapel Theatre. Though you can expect tighter scripting and better jokes than from an average wedding speech, there's just as much emotion. As with an actual wedding, I'd suggest bringing tissues.

The plays range from light comic vignettes and slice-of-life dramas, to high satire and some real tear-jerkers. Jordan Harrison’s The Revision is a warm hearted but pointed comedy about two men rewriting their wedding vows to reflect the realistic prospects facing gay couples in modern America. This Flight Tonight by Wendy Macleod, is a beautifully observed depiction of pre-wedding jitters, seen through the lens of two young women needing to travel interstate to get married. Mo Gaffney’s Traditional Wedding reframes the newness of gay marriage by having a long-married lesbian couple looking back on their wedding, while Paul Rudnick’s satires The Gay Agenda and My Husband are ebullient lampoons of social attitudes.

A highlight of the night is Doug Wright’s On Facebook a slick dramatisation of an actual online argument that will strike a chord with regular users of social media. Moisés Kaufman’s London Mosquitoes, framed as a eulogy by an elderly Jewish man for his long term male partner, is a bittersweet journey through personal and social history, touchingly spoken by Veitch. But the night hits its dramatic peak with LaBute’s Strange Fruit, a heartbreaking and expertly delivered piece set in California during the struggle for legalisation.

The overall arc of the night is well constructed, balancing humour and drama well, and the show comes to a celebratory finale with Rivera’s Andrew and Pablo at the Altar of Words, which brings all the cast on stage for a ceremony featuring some very honest vows, neatly closing the circle started with The Revision. All together Standing On Ceremony is a tremendous night of theatre which gives the topic of gay marriage the multi-faceted, warm-hearted and perceptive portrayal it deserves. I do recommend it.