Synopsis
During Canada’s “Purge”, queers were surveilled and it was the expression of desire – our physical need for bodies whose gender did not honour heteronormative codes, which was so dangerous. This ballet, which draws its title from Gary Kinsman’s book, illuminates the struggle of conformity, that push-pull within each of us to join the fray while striving for freedom to express our sexuality.
The characters include a lesbian recruit, performed by RWB Principal Dancer Elizabeth Lamont and an Ambassador accused of sharing secrets with a Soviet farm worker, played by Joel Simkin and Tymin Keown, respectively. The ballet’s storytellers are Katie Bonnell as Giselle in classical tutu spinning alongside burlesque pole dancer Michael Walker.
Men cruise forests, seeking anonymous encounters, thwarted by the Investigator and his Decoy (RWB Principal Stephan Azulay and Soloist Joshua Hidson). In the final chapter of the ballet, Lamont demands rank and honour from Azulay. She is triumphantly heralded by the group, signalling the challenge to federal policies based on the Charter of Rights and Freedom.
Director Biography – Noam Gonick
Noam Gonick has premiered scripted and documentary films at the Venice, Berlin and Sundance festivals, winning awards at Hot Docs and Inside/Out. Working in Television, he has directed for CBC, MGM+ and APTN. His features have been released theatrically in Germany, France, the USA and Canada, streamed worldwide on Netflix and collected by MoMA and the NGC. A filmmaking member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and a King Charles Coronation Award recipient, Gonick has lectured on his work at London’s Serpentine Gallery.
RoD is a part of a trilogy on the history of Canada’s 2SLGBTQ+ movement. The other pieces are the NFB documentary “Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance” and “The Fruit Machine” based on Brian Drader’s stage
play.