Simon K. Leary and Paora Taurima in Mates and Lovers The creator of the unabashedly risqué gay stage show Mates and Lovers is both befuddled and delighted with what the majority straight audience at its opening night in Hamilton. Ronald T. Nelson always studies the crowd before the show starts and says last night at the Playhouse Theatre there was an entire row of white-haired, middle-class women who seemed to particularly enjoy the production. “The show is just soooo queer,” he marvels. “We make cum jokes for god’s sakes. But they loved it. They particularly loved the bog scene, maybe because it takes place in Hamilton.” As there has been little local media and publicity, Nelson guesses maybe they bought season tickets for the Fuel Festival, which Mates and Lovers is part of. “Or maybe they all have gay sons, who knows?! But they loved it, that’s the best part,” he laughs. “In a lot of ways it’s really cool,” he says. “Because this is all brand new stuff for them - part of their education.” And yet, Nelson is wondering where all the gay Hamiltonians are. “It will be interesting to see how it goes tonight,” he says, “maybe the ladies will tell their friends and they’ll come along. Mates and Lovers is now running at 80 minutes and Nelson says it’s much tighter than it was in previous incarnations. “It’s a much better show, but it’s our fourth season of this so you would think that would happen.” Mates and Lovers is a stage adaption of Chris Brickell’s Montana Award winning book. It tells the stories of gay men in New Zealand from pre-colonial times until now, with limited props and through the skill of just two actors Simon K Leary and Paora Taurima playing more than 50 characters between them. It’s on stage tonight and tomorrow and Hamilton’s Playhouse Theatre. Tickets are on sale here, or from the theatre.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 29th June 2012 - 12:55pm