Playwright Joni Crone: "It's great now to have the marriage refer

Ana Livia Lesbia is a new play produced by Splódar Theatre Company that follows the plight of a young gay women coming to terms with her sexuality and her society in 1970s Ireland.  Its author Joni Crone certainly wears her heart on her sleeve, describing the play as 90% autobiographical.  Joni has the distinction of being the first gay Irish woman to 'come out' publicly on television after a 1980 Late Late Show appearance and it wasn't a decision she took lightly, as she tells Kay Sheehy on Arena.

"There's a few scenes in the play around that, before and after the Late Late, my family's reaction and my own worries and fear of what might happen to me, or being afraid I was going to be beaten up on the street or afraid I'd have to leave the country."

Publicising these very real and warranted fears was part of the impetus for Joni in writing the play.

"Attitudes have changed so much thankfully.  It's great now to have the marriage referendum and it's great to have a gay Taoiseach but I'm trying to say in this play that this didn't happen overnight, that there's a long history here.  I'm only trying to tell a small part of it and I'm trying to encourage others to tell their story as well. "

Joni is very familiar with the stories of many others struggling with issues around their sexuality, having spent seven years working with the helpline Lesbian Line.  She says she spoke to women from all walks of life, confused teens, nuns, women in unhappy marriages.  While it's hard for her to relive painful memories, Joni wants to ensure that the difficulties faced by those women aren't forgotten.

"To start with it was very painful just reaching back to those early experiences…  It's worth it to go back and as I say reach into those painful places, but really to show that it's possible for that to be transformed…  I think the best theatre is about that inner conflict in that inner world and when the characters comes to terms with that or find some sort of resolution, it's kind of like a triumph of the human spirit."

For the full interview click here.