Declan Greene Is A Farcical Faggot (His Word, Not Ours) In His New Play, 'The Homosexuals'

When theatre-maker Declan Greene, one-half of riotously subversive queer outfit Sisters Grimm, sat down to write his first farce, he had one goal. "When Ash [Flanders] and I write our Sisters Grimm comedies, we're always conscious that the humour should feel fresh and of the minute, even when it's kind of dumb. But with farce, you're completely indulging everything antiquated."

To that end, Greene's latest solo work The Homosexuals, Or 'Faggots', directed by Lee Lewis and opening at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre before heading to Sydney's Griffin, takes as its inspiration the likes of Michael Frayn's frisky play-within-a-play Noises Off, Ben Travers book turned-play-turned-film Rookery Nook and Belle Epoque folly A Flea In Her Ear. "I love them, the older and creakier the better."

"I don't think a lot of gay men are used to having their views challenged necessarily."

Playing in the farce sandbox allowed Greene to embrace conventions that never fail to amuse him, though they've fallen out of favour. "You can't ask if this is cool or not," he says. "There will be people running in and out of doors, terrible one-liners, puns and obnoxiously prolonged wordplay. There's something very freeing in that."

That's not to say Greene has shut the door on his razor-sharp wit and willingness to rattle cages, including those of his fellow gay, white males. The Homosexuals, Or 'Faggots' is set on the evening of Sydney's Mardi Gras Parade. Rich couple Warren (Simon Burke), who runs a "thirst-trap gay news website which probably features the occasional article about RuPaul's Drag Race and a lot of pictures of Nick Jonas flexing," and partner Kim (Simon Corfield), an academic, are ensconced in their tiny apartment in ritzy Potts Point, when an unexpected guest (Mama Alto) busts them in completely inappropriate costumes (Greene isn't spilling).

In order to thwart their social ruination, they're forced to tell evermore-ridiculous porkies that escalate out of control. The ensuing farce takes swipes at the left, right and centre, Greene assures, in the thorny political correctness debate recently exacerbated by the government's assault on 18C.

"I'm interested in the social force of political correctness," Greene says, acknowledging that his solo stuff and work with Flanders is often very un-PC indeed. "Within the context of this play, I'm looking at who has the right to offend and who has the right to be offended. It's ended up oddly being a comic play about comedy and an offensive play about offence."

When Greene cites Joan Rivers and her viciously inappropriate one-liners as one of his icons, you get the impression he's prepared to take a bit of flack. And some of the jokes in The Homosexuals, Or 'Faggots' are sure to ruffle feathers within the LGBTQI+ community, including a questioning of the prominence of the marriage equality debate and the greater visibility afforded to gay, white men, in comparison to other queer demographics — an irony that's not lost on him. "I don't think a lot of gay men are used to having their views challenged necessarily," Greene says. "I think it's kind of important we can actually start having these tougher, more rigorous conversations."

The Homosexuals, Or 'Faggots', plays 17 Feb — 12 Mar at Malthouse Theatre and 17 — 29 Apr at Griffin Theatre