THE PRIDE to Premiere in Sydney

Alexi Kaye Campbell's Olivier Award-winning The Pride is a remarkable reflection on gay identity and sexual liberation, from the repressive past to the more liberated present day. Darlinghurst Theatre Companypresents the highly anticipated Sydney Premiere on 9 February at Eternity Playhouse as part of the 2016 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Two parallel love stories shift between 1958 and the present day. In 1958, Oliver and Philip fall for each other but are forced to be strangers to desire and themselves. In the rainbow-stickered present, anonymous sex and empty style collide with the human heart.

Celebrated director Shane Bosher, nominated for a 2015 Sydney Theatre Award for his direction of Cock, has assembled a stellar cast in Matt Minto (Cock, Angels in America), Simon London (The Hobbit II and III, Edward III), Geraldine Hakewill (Platanov, Wanted) and Kyle Kazmarzik (Blood Wedding, Much Ado About Nothing).

Following rave reviews when it premiered in London in 2008, Shane Bosher is thrilled to bring this highly topical and deeply passionate play to Sydney. "There's a lot to be said for a love that dare not speak its name," he said. The Pride is one of those plays that gets under your skin. It brilliantly counterpoints ever-changing attitudes to love and sexuality with both audacity and wicked humour. It's brave enough to talk about the fear of being unloved and of never being able to be yourself. Brilliantly articulating the bold sacrifices we sometimes have to make to achieve happiness, it also provokes questions about the benefits of liberation: does it actually get better? I think audiences will travel into the night hopeful, but thinking and talking about it for days afterwards."

The Pride previewsat Eternity Playhouse from 5 February and runs through until 6 March.