If you want to discover what it means to be a man in modern society, take the bull by the horns and enter the Labyrinth with Bullish
Man meets Minotaur in Milk Presents’ Bullish, performed at the Wales Millennium Centre this November. © Ben Miller Cole
From 20 – 24 November, the Wales Millennium Centre will play host to Milk Presents’ Bullish, a modern reworking of the familiar Minotaur myth.
Bullish is a cabaret-style play where ancient Grecian tragedy meets modern gender norms and, like the Minotaur in a china shop, breaks the rules of both, tackling heteronormative convention with good humour and powerful storytelling.
The cast is made up of LGBTQ performers and Bullish headlined London’s first “Come As You Are” festival last summer, which celebrated the diversity of gender identity.
Bullish is their fifth professional show, following the award-winning Joan, a look at one of history’s most infamous and tragic warriors, whose vulnerability stemmed from the gender she was assigned at birth. Ruby says, “We’re in an age where it’s increasingly more important to realise where our stories come from and who is telling them. There’s a lot more to myths and legends that we should know about.”
LGBTQ mentor and youth worker, Martyn David, says, “It’s so powerful to see characters in the arts that are like you – especially when you are young. It can be life-altering, affirming and saving. Connecting to a story and its characters is one of the great joys of storytelling but sometimes as a gay man it feels more like a privilege than a right.
“There are countless explorations of opposite sex love in popular culture, but LGBTQ story-telling has yet to hit its peak. That’s why it is so important to have LGBTQ representation because there is another source of countless stories to tell.”
Bullish is a cabaret-style performance of the Minotaur myth, blending mythology and modern masculinity. ©Ben Miller Cole
Bullish has already received rave reviews for the way it speaks to a younger teenage audience. In the future, Milk Presents is looking to produce work for a younger audience, hoping to make queerness and gender identity a talking point for a younger generation.
Performances begin at 19:00 with a Wednesday matinee at 13:00.