A small troupe of Provincetown thespians is carrying a big message of support for marriage-equality to Ireland. The cast, crew, and playwright of the short play Just Say Yes, a same-sex marriage comedy by Lynda Sturner of Truro, Mass., is traveling from Provincetown to Ireland to stage their show at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (May 4-17) one week prior to an Irish vote on May 22.
The Dublin festival’s director Brian Merriman told the Provincetown Banner:
“[The show’s producer and director] Margaret Van Sant is doing very important quality work bringing new LGBT voices to the stage. It is one of those few areas left for theater to mine for stories, characters and plots, and in that it was inevitable that the festival in Dublin would link with the unique tradition of Provincetown.
“Bringing a play about equal marriage is timely and reminds Ireland, which is waking up every morning to hear negative coverage as to the status of our relationships or our suitability to form families as part of the fundamentalist ‘no’ campaign, to know that societies not only survive change but are enriched by being more inclusive. Long may this artistic association continue as we bridge the Atlantic with our common cultural bond.”
Just Say Yes is “the story of two women living in this current time of marriage equality. “My inspiration for [writing] the piece,” says playwright Sturner, “came from being in Provincetown on May 23, 2004, the day that marriage equality came to Massachusetts. I was there and witnessed that amazing day when the whole town was smiling.”
