Love! Valour! Compassion! definitely differs structurally from the last few plays we read. It isn't in linear order, for one thing, and the story includes some direct narration to the audience. The men in this play have a complex history that gets fleshed out as the play progresses, so the story is much more fuzzy than other pieces we have read that are more straight forward. Honestly, I had difficulty getting through this play, because I kept having to go back and re-read passages, or rethink relationships to make sure I knew who was involved with who, who was hooking up with who, etc.
A historian could draw from this play that during this time period gay-rights and gay awareness was quite a relevant issue. I think that the playwright does an excellent job conveying the Truth of the matter, because although homosexuality is much more accepted at this time than it was in the past, there is still hate that must be fought against. Even though these men are at their oasis, she still touches on the fact that there are hateful people out there. They're watching footage of a gay demonstration in seattle and Perry says, "...He whacked that guy with his nightstick right against his head. Motherfucker!" This play is different than other plays we've read because it raises awareness of a societal issue....homophobia...that's still relevant today. I like how McNally makes every character in the play homosexual, because he's propagating the idea that love is love, no matter what gender you are.
Great job! I think you're completely right in what the historian would gather in reference to what issues they would find important and what groups of people need to be fought for. I wonder, though, what you think the historian would think about how play structure has evolved from, let's say, the well-made play structure. Do you think the historian would find plays sloppy now or actually more at the truth of what the playwright is trying to say?
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