A change for the better
BACK in 1988, the Tasmanian Gay Law Reform Group was banned from having a stall at Salamanca Market — because they were asking people to sign a petition calling for the decriminalisation of sexual activity between consenting adult males.
Over the course of several weekends, police arrested 130 activists for defying the ban and crossing the boundary line. Those protests sparked a campaign to change the outdated law, which was the last of its kind in the country and the most draconian in the Western world.
Now, exactly 30 years later, Tasmania’s journey from exclusion to inclusion, from opposition to acceptance, and from hatred to embrace is being explored in the new theatre production The Campaign, which has its world premiere in Hobart this month.
Based on candid interviews with the people who were on the front line — including Rodney Croome, Nick Toonen and Christine Milne — award-winning playwright Campion Decent has fashioned a gripping account of Tasmania’s gay law reform campaign of the 1980s and ’90s, including the venomous parliamentary debates and public meetings, the individual acts of bravery and humour, and the dogged fight for a landmark United Nations ruling that had repercussions far beyond Tasmania.
Actors Alex Duncan, Rosemary Cann, Robert Jarman, Melissa King and Ben Winckle will work with director Matt Scholten to tell the emotion-charged personal stories behind the big events that changed Tasmania for the better.
“The Campaign is a story of community, of people working together for change,” Decent says.
“I stand in awe of the courage and conviction of the people in this play, and the countless others who stood beside them in real life.”
The Tasmanian Theatre Company, Blue Cow Theatre, If Theatre and the Salamanca Arts Centre present The Campaign at the Peacock Theatre from October 22 to November 3, with performances at 7.30pm most nights, plus a 2pm matinee on October 27.
Tickets are $49, $35 concession, for bookings go to www.centertainment.com.au or phone 6234 5998.