Taste of the forbidden

It’s a long way from Sri Lanka to the Mardi Gras, but playwright Visakesa Chandrasekaram has found a connection.

A former human rights lawyer, Chandrasekaram worked closely with the often-closeted gay community in his native country before coming to Australia with his boyfriend five years ago.

In Sydney, the playwright perceived a new audience for his award-winning work Forbidden Area, which was first staged with heterosexual characters in Sri Lanka 10 years ago.

About two years ago I started to read it again, thinking I wanted to do this play, because some people in Sydney were interested in producing it, and I thought it would be much stronger as a gay or lesbian play, he says.

Despite its new Sydney staging this Mardi Gras season, Forbidden Territory retains its Sri Lankan characters and setting.

Under Chandrasekaram’s direction, the play follows fighters from Sri Lankan rebel group Tamil Tigers as they prepare to assassinate the president.

Chandrasekaram, 37, has cast three South Asian-born actors in the piece at TAP Gallery in Darlinghurst. He is enigmatic about further plot details, but does reveal that the play is a dark work inspired by real-life gay and lesbian stories.

It’s not a comedy, it’s a very difficult story to deal with. It’s a tragedy actually, he says.

There were some stories in the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers about how this whole issue of same-sex relationships and sexual contact was accepted or rejected.

There were a number of anecdotes, like one of the Tamil Tigers, who was killed a couple of years ago, being given the responsibility of commanding the women’s brigade because he was gay.

I thought it was really interesting that the leadership didn’t get rid of him. Instead they put him into a very restricted area to get the best out of him as well as to keep everybody quiet. It’s such a diplomatic way of resolving the issue.

Chandrasekaram says Forbidden Territory reflects the paradox of Sri Lanka, where homosexuality is illegal but authorities are usually lenient.

Countries like Sri Lanka, which is predominantly Buddhist and Hindu, are not necessarily homophobic, he says.

You don’t necessarily call yourself gay but at the same time people keep quiet if you want to talk about that, unlike here.

Chandrasekaram himself had generally positive experiences as a gay man in Sri Lanka. After the authorities banned his gay play Bed Of Nettles, he rewrote it to appease them, then staged the original anyway.

Chandrasekaram hopes Forbidden Territory sheds light on his gay and lesbian compatriots who are not quite as fortunate.

What I would like people [in Sydney] to see is the other side of the issue, people on the other side of the world, how difficult it is for people to be gay or lesbian.

And how difficult for them to ask for or demand fundamental rights.

Forbidden Territory is on until 4 March at TAP Gallery, 278 Palmer St, Darlinghurst. Book on 1300 306 776.