The infinite possibilities
Openly gay actor (and certified cutie — who doesn’t love a bad boy with a mischievous glint in his eye wielding a weapon?) Brynn Loosemore is the poster boy for The Possibilities, a biting work from legendary British writer Howard Barker that’s now playing at Marrickville’s Sidetrack Theatre.
The play is made up of 10 short scenarios, with the eight actors on stage each playing multiple roles. Loosemore’s characters include ‘a gun-thirsty weaver, a charming man’s man, a wartime peasant, and the co-manager of a hotel with a deadly secret’.
“It’s an exploration of violence, which moves in and out of history and all around the world,” Loosemore explained.
“Each scene bleeds into the next with a flow that keeps you on edge and doesn’t let go.”
With a comparatively large cast, The Possibilities would surely require a commanding director to wrangle the on-stage action. In this case, there are four — directors Justine Campbell, Marcel Dorney, Travis Green and Fiona Hallenan-Barker work together in what’s billed as a ‘unique directing collaborate’ to bring The Possibilities to life.
Loosemore said the unusual arrangement had been working well, for both cast and directors.
“The best thing about having four directors for this show is that each share a common vision for the play, but come from unique angles. This can be very nourishing for the ensemble.”
While the 24-year-old actor is just starting out, he’s already landed some choice roles, including a part in Steven Spielberg’s recent Word War Two miniseries The Pacific.
Clearly being openly gay hasn’t harmed his leading man chances just yet, but did Loosemore have any reticence about being so open about his sexuality?
“I like to think the people who pay money to see the shows that I’ve decided to do are the kind of people who are smarter than to make a decision based on the sexuality of the cast or crew,” he said.
“In terms of homophobia in casting, I do expect to lose opportunities and be declined chances by producers purely because of my sexuality, but I’d rather be rejected and be myself, than to be offered killer jobs and feel uncomfortable about it.”
One last thing we just had to ask on behalf of our readership: The Possibilities comes with a ‘nudity and sexual references’ warning. Does Loosemore get his kit off on stage? He remained coy.
“There is nudity, there is violence, there are a lot of confronting events in this play, and none of them are gratuitous,” he promised.
“I’m sure a naked actor on stage would not be the thing consuming the thoughts of the audience after seeing The Possibilities.”
info: The Possibilities plays at the Sidetrack Theatre, Marrickville, until August 28. Visit
www.sidetrack.com.au
CAPT:
Openly gay actor Brynn Loosemore shows his dark side in The Possibilities.
