On Sunday night, writer Sky Gilbert published a post on his blog — a blog that has likely seen a record-breaking spike in traffic over the past few weeks — titled “Sky Gilbert Says Goodbye to Buddies.”
It’s the fourth post in four weeks, the span in which Gilbert went from having a civil relationship with the company he co-founded in 1979, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, to removing an upcoming workshop production from the season and severing ties with the company completely. Hopefully it’s the final one in a drama that has stoked a generational divide in the theatre community.
“Buddies is no longer a Gay and Lesbian Theatre, as it was when I was the artistic director,” Gilbert wrote. “Buddies is now a home for people representing a range of intersectional genders and identities. I no longer want my name, my voice, my essays, my ideas, my plays, my novels, my poems, my art — or anything about me — to be associated with Buddies. I’m happy to make space for others.”
The post comes after two weeks of controversy for Buddies, the world’s largest and longest-running queer theatre — certainly no stranger to causing offence in its 40-year history.
