Ray Hill
It’s impossible to have a conversation about the LGBT community in Houston without Ray Hill’s name coming up. By fate or design (or both) the man has been a part of pretty much every single major event in queer Houston history. This Sunday, January 15, hear part of the story straight from the patriarch’s mouth at Ray Hill and the Sex Police at Obsidian Art Space (3522 White Oak Dr).
The scripted one man show explores 40 years of what Hill describes as the Houston Police Department’s efforts to shut down gay bars and limit public access to sexually themed books, videos, films and venues. Hill has performed Sex Police in several venues over the last decade, using his personal journey as a vehicle to teach history with wit, humor, and the occasional dirty word (although he’s promised this performance will be cleaned up slightly).
“It is all history but it is also funny and fun…sometime sad but mostly funny,” says Hill. “My experience as a gay man spans the years when being gay was a felony offense, I have known old old men who were sentenced to Texas prison for LIFE for being gay. In the last decade the police have left gay bars alone but not other gay businesses (book and video stores) but it was not always the case. ”
As a bonus Hill hints that video of his recent arrest at Pleasures Club, where he had gone to investigate rumors of police harassment of exotic dancers, may be shown as part of the performance.
Ray Hill and the Sex Police starts at 7 pm. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at the door. Complementary drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served before the show and during intermission.
