Pleasure and pain are impossible to separate

“Pleasure and pain are impossible to separate” is the tag line for Bootycandy by John O’Hara. It’s a play about Black/Queer identity and it’s currently playing at Buddies in Bad Times in a co-production with Obsidian Theatre. It’s complex, episodic, impressionistic, very funny and quite filthy. The notes by director Jay Northcott can basically be summarised as “Go with the flow and be open to what’s happening around you”. It’s great advice. Trying to find a linear narrative or “meaning” in Bootycandy is just a recipe for frustration.

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