New LGBTQ+ play confronts disturbing ‘gay panic’ defence
New LGBTQ+ play The Panic Defense examines four stories of anti-LGBTQ+ violence and how prejudice can be reframed as fear in court.
A new LGBTQ+ documentary drama is confronting the disturbing history of so-called “gay panic” and “trans panic” arguments through the stories of four people whose lives were lost to violence.
The Panic defence docu-drama opens in New York next month and asks what happens when prejudice against somebody's sexuality or gender identity is reframed as fear in a courtroom.
Four LGBTQ+ stories take centre stage
The 90-minute production is inspired by real cases and uses documentary-style theatre to examine anti-LGBTQ+ violence, accountability and the way victims can be discussed after their deaths.
So-called gay and trans panic strategies have been used by defendants seeking to argue that discovering or perceiving somebody's sexuality or gender identity, or receiving a sexual advance, contributed to a violent reaction. They are not separate formal legal defences in themselves, and a growing number of US states have restricted their use.
Affoumado said he wrote the play to give a voice to people whose lives had been overshadowed by those responsible for killing them. Rather than concentrating entirely on perpetrators, the production aims to put the people affected and the prejudice surrounding their cases back at the centre.
The eight-person cast includes Keith R. Beck, Sean Gordon, Careem Joy, Jacqueline Keeley, Robert Maisonett, Jud Meyers, Juan C. Ortiz and Fola Walker.
The Panic Defense runs at 30th Street Theater in Manhattan from 6 to 22 November, with post-show discussions on 13 and 20 November. The second takes place in recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance, observed annually on 20 November.
Tickets are priced at $25 plus booking fees.
