Queer Thinking

IN spite of the existence of Gay and Lesbian Pride Week in performance artist Patrick Scully's home town of Minneapolis, there appears to have been precious little pride involved in being a homosexual man or woman. Scully's show, now at the Project at the Mint in Dublin, is a brave and wise examination of what it means to be gay in America today. The landscape is bleak and essentially homophobic.

Scully presents his largely autobiographical narrative in various stages of dress/undress. As Tonya, a drag queen, he asks what it is about homosexuals that makes people uncomfortable. As Passion Fruit, a "radical fairy", he is completely naked.

There is an appealing honesty and lack of coyness in his performance and its content. Despite the occasional innuendo and knowing injoke, there is no room for titillation here. Many should come to see him, hear him, and take note.