Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Showing Pride at HERE: Colt Coeur’s CAMPING serves Brokeback Mountain realness, E. Zaalan takes queer clowning to the cosmos in SYRIAN SOAP

• By drediman
• July 7, 2026
• No Comments

Some of the more fascinating LGBTQ+ programming during Pride Month could be found at HERE, which this year doubled down to present an eclectic array of queer-focused theater. As usual, read on for my thoughts on two of these offerings.

CAMPING
Colt Coeur at HERE
Through July 11

This Pride season at HERE, Colt Coeur is presenting the world premiere of Camping (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) by Victoria Lynne Barclay. Upon first glance, this superbly written and acted two-hander seems a knockoff of Brokeback Mountain, but with longing lesbians instead of lonesome cowboys at its center. But it’s really more than just a simple recycling of Annie Proulx’s novella (which was laster successfully adapted by director Ann Lee into an award-winning film starring Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger as the aforementioned cowboys). Both a love story and a meditation on the evolution of relationships, the play tells the tale of Ari and Brit, whose close friendship as children tentatively but inevitably morphs into an intense, unspoken romance over the course of approximately three decades. What’s notable about Barclay’s writing is the honesty of her dialogue and the way she is able to shed exposing light — albeit, empathetically, and without being harsh about it — on the messiness and raw heartache of unrequited love, namely as it relates to regret and deep-seated shame. Structurally, the play takes place entirely inside a borrowed tent where Ari and Brit, over the years, meet up in claustrophobic quarters to invariably share moments of exceeding intimacy and vulnerability. Suffice to say, each subsequent encounter between the two women only contribute to the exhausting emotional and psychological toll caused by their continued repressed sexual desire, vis à vis deep affection, towards each other. As Ari and Brit, respectively, Colby Minifle and Alice Kremelberg are giving beautifully etched performances, effectively conveying the passage of time through the subtle shifts in their demeanors and mannerisms, which is aided by director Adrienne Campbell-Holt’s efficient yet theatrical staging. But despite changing over the years as individuals, their chemistry and bond only burn brighter when fanned by each other’s company.

SYRIAN SOAP
National Queer Theater / HERE’s Criminal Queerness Festival
Through June 27

Pride 2026 continued its stride at HERE with the National Queer Theater’s Criminal Queerness Festival, which culminated with performances of E. Zaalan’s surreal solo show Syrian Soap (RECOMMENDED) (earlier offerings of the festival included LOUR’s Area D and Bazeed’s faggy faafi Cairo boy). In brief, CQF — which was designated as the official theater event of NYC Pride — was formed to present works by artists from countries where queerness is censored and criminalized. In Zaalan’s gently campy one person show, anything goes clowning takes to the queer cosmos, commencing in an imagined afterlife in an intergalactic bathhouse of sorts, where one of Zaalan’s distant forebear engages in sessions of ancestral intervention (!). As the hourlong act unfolds, it acknowledges — often times quirkily — the paramount importance of revolution and heritage, particularly for those whose rights are on the line (like the queer community). There’s nothing hard-edged nor aggressive about the regular occurrences of audience participation. In this respect, the show called to mind Julia Masli’s ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (you can read my review of that performance here). In many ways, Syrian Soup defies description and expectations. Indeed, Zaalan keeps audiences on their toes as it shifts gears time and time again, from clowning, to burlesque, to avant-garde theater, to stand-up comedy, and beyond. It’s also in turn deeply personal and universal, hilarious and poignant. Ultimately, the show — of which no two has been or will ever be the same due to the interactive nature of the performance — is an exercise in the expression of radical resilience and joy. Although some may be somewhat frustrated and bewildered by its meandering, seemingly unfocused quality, I found the production to be an ultimately poignant manifesto on the act of survival and healing, particularly as directed by Tallie Medel (based on Natasha Mercado’s original staging)