A Public Display of Affection ★★★★★

A Public Display of Affection — Queer History Takes Up Space ★★★★★

A Public Display of Affection is a solo theatre show disguised as something closer to a public-speaking event or perhaps a stop on the world’s most fabulous gay lecture tour. At its centre is an extraordinary queer elder: articulate, commanding, incredibly well-spoken and armed with decades of lived experience.

What unfolds is queer comedy with serious intellectual weight. It’s clever, beautifully constructed and deeply reflective, moving through queer life across the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s while examining the moments that shaped generations of LGBTQIA+ people.

There’s something particularly powerful about hearing this history through a Canadian lens. The show connects personal experience with the wider international queer movement, touching on Stonewall, protest, activism and the devastating impact of the AIDS crisis, the first global pandemic experienced so intimately by the queer community. For me, it also created fascinating connections back to Australia and the protests of 1978, themselves inspired by the liberation movement gathering momentum following Stonewall.

But this never becomes a dry history lesson. The intelligence of the writing sits alongside humour, affection and moments that are almost uncomfortably real. It’s pure storytelling, filled with queer revelation and the kind of emotional truth that can suddenly catch you off guard.

This is a story that deserves to travel. Queer history disappears when we stop telling it, and A Public Display of Affection understands the importance of passing those experiences between generations.

Flawlessly constructed, powerful and full of queer excellence.

Its two lasting messages say everything: find your sway and take up space.

★★★★★ Five stars.