Forcing Orientation
Expansive drama exposes lie of queer conversion therapy
BY DAVID KENNERLEY
So-called “conversion
therapy” (aka “reparative
therapy”) assumes that
homosexuality is shameful
and an abomination. In the
US alone, according to a recent
Williams Institute report, nearly
700,000 LGBTQ adults have been
subjected to conversion therapy
meant to change their sexual orientation
or gender identity.
Despite clear evidence that such
treatment is bogus and harmful,
causing anxiety, drug use, and
suicide, it persists. Some 57,000
Americans still in their youth today
will receive conversion therapy
before they reach the age of 18.
“Bundle of Sticks,” a provocative,
farcical drama by J. Julian
Christopher, attempts to tackle
this fraught topic. But instead of
a straightforward narrative, he
injects a heavy dose of magical realism.
Under the direction of Lou
Moreno, and with an assist from
Harbour Edney’s inventive lighting
design, the piece pulses with undeniable
theatricality. The work is
a joint production from INTAR Theatre
and Radio Drama Network.
Instead of a single play, Christopher
instead gives us three stories
cobbled together. One chronicles
the travails of a group of gay men
sent to The Sticks, a global conversion
therapy center in Coober Pedy,
an Australian town that served as
the setting for the “Mad Max” fi lm.
The founder and leader, Otto
Nairn, is a toxic taskmaster who
spews anti-gay rhetoric while at the
same time reveling in the glories of
penises and man-musk. He regularly
performs “erection checks”
without consent. As part of a tolerance
exercise, he forces the young
men to strip naked and sniff each
other’s genitals. Otto, for his part,
has no problem strutting his junk
as well.
“Too often I see blokes give in to
this bizarre and maladjusted homosexual
life that the world is forcing
down our throats,” he says lasciviously.
“We are expected not to
gag on the gay agenda. It’s time for
Lucille Duncan, Zo Tipp, and Hope Ward in J. Julian Christopher’s “Bundle of Sticks,” directed by Lou
Moreno, at INTAR Theatre through March 22.
the rest of us to live in our birthday
suit and show these amoral blokes
that we have no gag refl ex.”
Now, you may be wondering how
such an intimate, graphic scene
might be staged. Christopher has
solved the dilemma by casting
the roles without cisgender males,
which adds another surreal dimension
and challenges traditional
constructs of gender identity.
Actors wear cartoonish prosthetic
genitals made of fabric, their size
somewhat exaggerated in keeping
with the play’s otherworldly conceit.
While there is no actual nudity,
an intimacy coach, Chelsea
Pace, was wisely brought in to supervise
the sexual scenes.
The loathsome, oily Otto is skillfully
embodied by Laura Jordan,
employing a lilting yet menacing
Australian Outback accent. The
multinational inmates include
Francisco (Melissa Navia), a Dominican
who wants to become
straight, Abram (Fleece), an obstinate
Russian Jew, Gregos (Lucille
Duncan), a macho young Greek,
Gemi (Zo Tipp), a feisty, snarky Indonesian,
and Tyree (Hope Ward),
an African-American army veteran
in love with Gemi.
Another play involves a mythical
beast known as the Rainbow
Serpent, god of rain and erections,
who appears to invade the men’s
dreams. This multicolored phallic
snake arrives in puppet form and
sometimes is comprised of the men
themselves arranged in a line,
wriggling in a rhythmic, slithery
CAROL ROSEGG
dance.
Yet another play recounts Otto’s
grandfather, Walter Nairn, a
conservative nationalist who inspired
Otto to establish The Sticks
program. Walter, the production
makes clear, is a real person, while
Otto and The Sticks are purely
THEATER
fi ctional. A labored connection is
made between the atrocities committed
by Otto and the sins of his
grandfather. This third story overcomplicates
the already knotty
proceedings and could easily be
excised.
Of course, “Bundle of Sticks” refers
not only to the conversion center,
but to the pejorative, “faggots,”
often hurled at gay men. Despite its
mystifying complexity, this bold,
fascinating drama potently exposes
the atrocities of conversion therapy,
the duplicity of its perpetrators,
and the trauma it still causes
countless innocent LGBTQ people
across the globe.
BUNDLE OF STICKS | INTAR
Theatre, 500 W. 52nd S t., fourth
fl . | Through Mar. 22: Tue.- Sat. at
8 p.m.; Sun. at 5 p.m. | $40 at IntarTheatre.
org | Two hrs., with intermission
DONATE YOUR CAR
Wheels For Wishes
benefiting
Make-A-Wish®
Metro New York
* 100% Tax Deductible
* Free Vehicle Pickup ANYWHERE
* We Accept Most Vehicles Running or Not
* We Also Accept Boats, Motorcycles & RVs
WheelsForWishes.org
* Car Donation Foundation d/b/a Wheels For Wishes. To learn more about our programs or
Call:(917)336-1254
GayCityNews.com | March 12 - March 25, 2020 35
/WheelsForWishes.org
/GayCityNews.com
