When there are wall-to-wall words, is there any room for dance? And when those words describe horrifying intolerance, is there any place for dance?

These were the dual challenges that Lloyd Newson, founder and director of DV8 Physical Theatre, set to conquer in To Be Straight With You, an 80-minute whirlwind through religiously and culturally sanctioned homophobia. "It was definitely tricky," Newson said recently from his London office, shortly before departing with his eight dancers for a short US tour that includes a Nov. 12-14 stop at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. (The November calendar at YBCA also includes a Big Idea performance/party celebrating the "State of the Queer Nation," and the newest work from gay performance artist Tim Miller; see below for more details.)

Co-presented with San Francisco Performances, To Be Straight With You returns DV8 Physical Theatre to San Francisco for the first time in 12 years, an invitation born out of the buzz surrounding the show. Ever since he founded DV8 in 1986, the Australian-born Newson has been dedicated to creating dance-theater pieces "that matter," as he says, "that don't add to the clutter of nice, pretty dance works about nothing."

The often tortuous world of human sexuality has been a key topic for Newson, notably in the 1988 production Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men, which begins with movements built around the rituals of gay-bar cruising before going to a very dark place, and 1992's Strange Fish, which examines the tyrannies facing heterosexuals in the push to be coupled.

The evolving style of Newson's choreography can be viewed through these two productions, with Dead Dreams employing what he calls a "high-risk, volatile, athletic form of dance" that was both injuring dancers and becoming a cliche for Newson, and Strange Fish, which shows a move toward "more poetic and imagistic work." (Newson will be holding auditions for a new production of Strange Fish at YBCA on Nov. 13.)

While there is no such thing as a typical DV8 show – "people like that about us, that they never know what they're going to get" – To Be Straight Wit

Scene from DV8's To Be Straight With You. Photo: Matt Nettheim

h You is a departure from most DV8 productions in its text-based underpinnings. Newson and his colleagues spent months conducting scores of interviews in the UK on the subject of violent and even life-threatening homophobia that can be espoused under the guise of religious freedom or cultural authenticity. The schism in the Anglican Church over gay acceptance, fundamentalist Islamic condemnation of homosexuality, and the gay-bashing lyrics of some Jamaican dancehall artists are among the motivating issues behind To Be Straight With You.

"Of the 85 people we interviewed, 40 of them were Muslim, because some of the most harrowing stories came from the Muslim community," Newson said. "There were a lot of gay Muslim men and women who wanted to tell their stories, but not one of them was prepared to use their real names under fear for their lives. I realize San Francisco is a special place for gay people, but it's important to remember that most of the people we interviewed live in London, which is supposedly a liberal, tolerant society."

After editing the material down to 25 key interviews, which are performed verbatim, Newson then worked with his performers to find a dance expression to go with the words. "We started with the performers with iPods on, and they would improvise something physical that would often mirror what their subjects were saying. Then I asked them to do the opposite sometimes, or I would give them a small task as a way to open up possibilities. We use a lot of what I call extended naturalism."

The performances include the recreation of a 14-year-old boy's story of being stabbed by his father after coming out as gay, with the words spoken as the performer skips rope before becoming entangled in it. Then there is a scene in a gay South Asian nightclub that turns into a Bollywood-esque dance number. "We also use a lot of projections in the piece," Newson said, "and sometimes we just have people writing things on chalkboards."

Wanting to avoid the sometimes-violent protests and even death threats that have greeted novels, movies, broadcasts, and plays in the UK that dealt with religious intolerance, Newson tried more for a debate than a diatribe. "There are a lot of different views, and it seems to me that unless we can hear all the voices, we can't move forward."

Ultimately, of course, To Be Straight With You has little use for institutionalized homophobia. "I don't mind if people don't like homosexuals, and there are plenty of homosexuals that I don't like," Newson said. "But it's very hard for me as a gay man to respect something that wants my death."

Miller time

Tim Miller, a frequent performer on local stages, brings Lay of the Land to YBCA on Nov. 20-21. In Miller's own words, his newest piece is "my saucy and sharp-knifed look at the State of the Onion (I mean Union!) – my jury duty anxiety – my adventures performing in 45 states – and cheap meat choking queer 10-year-old boys' throats in America's kitchens! The piece friskily gets at the feeling of gay folks being perpetually on trial, on the ballot, on the menu."

Miller, a member of the notorious "NEA Four," will also conduct a weeklong workshop at YBCA starting Nov. 15. The workshop will offer strategies to create original performances from personal stories addressing queer identity, and will culminate in a public performance titled Body Maps on Nov. 22.

What's the Big Idea?

As part of Yerba Buena's ongoing Big Ideas series, the center is throwing a performance and party on Nov. 14. State of the Queer Nation will start with "Soapbox Social" at 7 p.m., with remarks from queer notables, followed by cocktails and conversation. At 9 p.m., the "pARTy" begins, with DJ Black and Crew spinning homohop, as well as appearances by Tim Miller, the Diamond Daggers queer burlesque troupe, and more.

Admission is free through the center's RSVP site at www.ybcafree.org. For more information on To Be Straight With You, Lay of the Land, and Miller's workshops, call 978-2787 or go to www.ybca.org.

Richard Dodds can be reached at BARstage@comcast.net.