John Roman Baker

John Roman Baker is a British / French-born poet, playwright, activist and journalist associated mainly with the work of Aids Positive Underground Theatre (Aputheatre). Winner of the Brighton Festival award for Best Theatre in 1990 for his play 'The Ice Pick'

His first play 'Limitations' launched the first season of the Gay Sweatshop Theatre company. [ [http://www.knittingcircle.org.uk/gaysweatshop.html Gay Sweatshop] ; Gay Knitting circle; retrieved on 2007-11-22] In 1985 he was co-founder of the Sussex AIDS Helpline (aka Sussex AIDS Centre [ [http://gay.brighton.co.uk/services.asp Gay Brighton and Hove Services] ] ) one of the UK's first voluntary organisations established to campaign for an assist those affected by HIV and AIDS.

"The Prostitution Plays" was first performed in Amsterdam in 2000, [ [http://www.aputheatre.com/things.htm Gay Theatre in Amsterdam] : retrieved on 2007-11-22] and subsequently toured several European cities at the time of their Gay Pride festivals. [ [http://www.geocities.com/aputheatre/pplayinfo.htm AIDS Positive Underground Theater] ; retrieved on 2007-11-22]

Works

Performed plays include: [ [http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsB/baker-john-roman.html Playwright's Database] ; retrieved on 2007-11-22]
*"COCK!, 1993
*"The Club Beautiful", 2001
*"Crying Celibate Tears", 1989
*"East Side Skin", 2003
*"Easy", 1993
*"Freedom to Party",
*"Heroes", 1999
*"The Ice Pick", 1990
*"In One Take", 1994
*"The Last Century of Desire", 1995
*"The Prostitution Plays", 2000
*"The Pornographic Wall"; 1999
*"Prisoners of Sex", 2006
*"Romophobia", 2005
*"Things Happen", 2004
*"The War Fuck", 2004

Personal life

Early notoriety was achieved when in 1974 he appeared with his then boyfriend Tony Whitehead, the first chairperson of the Terrence Higgins Trust, in a Southern Television documentary about Gay Rights. [ [http://www.tht.org.uk/aboutus/ourtimeline/1990s/ THT: About Us] ; retrieved on 2007-11-22] They were pictured kissing as one of them met the other of a train at Brighton Station. As a result of this, Whitehead was immediately fired by his employer British Home Stores. A national outcry ensued which galvanised the Gay Rights movement led by CHE the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and GLF the Gay Liberation Front. [ [http://www.petertatchell.net/history/longway.htm 30 years of gay liberation] ; retrieved on 2007-11-22]

References

External links

[http://www.aputheatre.com/manifesto.htm MANIFESTO: TO HAVE A HOMOSEXUAL CONSCIENCE John Roman Baker] ; retrieved on 2007-11-22.