University of Otago theatre and gender studies student Luke Major (18) is ready to perform in the play QUEEN in Dunedin next week.
The play, which comprises 13 monologues, presents 13 different perspectives of gay men.
The monologues would be performed by six young male actors, who are all University of Otago students.
The first person the former Logan Park High School pupil told he was gay was a friend at the age of 14.
He then told his mother and came out publicly about two years later and took his boyfriend to the school ball.
"I had my first relationship with a guy and we came out together."
The play was written by Auckland playwright Sam Brooks.
The first monologue Major performs is from the perspective of an 11-year-old boy after kissing a boy for the first time.
"I could relate to that one and look back on my first kiss and what it was like to find someone else who identified the same as you and had the same thoughts, desires and feelings."
Despite Major celebrating his two-and-a-half-year anniversary with his boyfriend on Thursday, he only came out to his extended family this year.He became closer to his extended family after telling them because it allowed him to be open about his life.
Dunedin was a great place to grow up but slurs such as "faggot" were used, especially by teenage boys.
"There is still that habitual hate there; it’s such an ingrained part of society."
Play director Jordan Dickson said the play explored 13 different perspectives on how the term gay was an aspect of the men’s lives but was not a defining factor.
The play is presented by the University of Otago Theatre Studies Programme at Allen Hall Theatre at 1pm and 7.30pm on Thursday and 1pm on Friday.
Major represented New Zealand after being selected in the 2016 Young Shakespeare Company, performing in The Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London in July.
He worked with industry professionals and learnt about the world of Shakespearean theatre.
