From New York to Canberra: Choir Boy puts Black Queerness centre stage

Posted on 8 March, 2023

When the cast of Choir Boy fills Canberra Theatre Centre with tender acapella gospel vocals, we sit down and listen.

The brainchild of Tarell Alvin McCraney, who gave us the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight – Choir Boy’s visceral audience reaction is perhaps no surprise.

The work is emotional and unsparing – a poem written through sound, Black queerness and intent. As it makes its way around Australia, Canberra audiences are invited to feel the effects of this powerful play from 29 March until 2 April.

A work that floored audiences on Broadway, Choir Boy tells the story of the students at Drew Prep School for Boys. At the tender age of just 16 and 17, their journey towards self-discovery is both relatable and eerily raw, forced to reckon with the competing pressures of race, class, family and religion. In the midst of it all emerges young Pharus Young, whose queer experience balances the joy of living authentically and the judgments of the world around him, Pharus’ depth and complex characterisation giving audiences an intimate glimpse into his inner world.

For co-Director of the play Zindzi Okenyo, being a part of this production and working alongside co-Director Dino Dimitriadis was a no-brainer. Both finding personal intersections within the play’s themes, Zindzi describes the experience as incredibly “healing.”

“We were really respectful of each other’s lived experiences and gently brought all of that to the forefront whilst encouraging the cast to do the same,” explains Zindzi. “When you make work like this, and you cast with intent, then you end up with people in the room who really understand the content and know what it’s about on a personal level.”

“Dino and I wanted to create a room where people could feel like themselves and be joyous and open. And that has been a really amazing healing and affirming part of the process and just creating that sense of community…that’s something that we’re really proud of.”

As Choir Boy’s scenes carefully and masterfully unfurl, moments of transition are marked by what could be called the beating heart of this production—its music, with each song representing history and meaning well beyond its literal interpretation. While Choir Boy isn’t considered a musical, many of the actors will perform musical interludes, interwoven with the play’s narrative.

Through striking harmonies and rich melodies, Choir Boy’s soundtrack is nothing short of magical with Zindzi noting that while the music guides us forward, it never overpowers the narrative.

“Choir Boy doesn’t work like a traditional musical play works. The way that Tarell has structured the piece is that there will often be a scene, and then a song will be at the end of that as part of a transition or passing of time.”

“The music is like an expression of [the character’s] vulnerable, tender inner world and what they’re striving for, as opposed to in a traditional musical, [where] it’s like,’ Oh, and here’s what I couldn’t say because I ned to burst out into song,” reflects Zindzi.

A thoroughly modern play, Choir Boy moves away from breezy romanisations and simple solutions so as to upend cliques and tropes and reflect the reality of queer experience.

Asking big questions and sparking even bigger conversation, the play often shines the spotlight on the cracks within our social tapestry—a testimony to Zindzi and Dino’s careful interpretation of Tarell’s work and the choir of aching hearts that guide us.

“I feel like the writing allows you to peer into the lives of these young men, and everything that they’re going through, and all the masks that they’re putting on.”

“It’s similar to what Tarell explored in Moonlight—that sense of ‘How do you be a Black man?’ How does Blackness, masculinity and queerness all sit together? Can it?’ And then I think, you know, especially in African and African-American culture still, there is a real tension with homosexuality and queerness”

“I certainly feel at the end of the piece that you feel like you’ve just witnessed people becoming who they need to be. But of course, as we know of life, that’s a lifelong journey, so it doesn’t put a ribbon on end.”

As Zindzi, Dino, and this extraordinary cast prepare to bring Choir Boy to Canberra audiences, Zindzi notes the importance of this production beyond theatrical enjoyment—but as a way to powerfully elevate the voices of queer Black men. Voices that will no longer wait to be heard.

“I think it’s really important to be able to experience the stories of other cultures in such a specific way. And this is a story specifically about Black, queer men and Black men struggling with what it is to be a Black man today,” reflects Zindzi.

“And for those communities, I imagine it’s a very affirming experience, and then if it’s not your community, how great to be able to peer into the lives of those people?”

Feature image by Phil Erbacher