The Gay Sweatshop, founded in 1975, was Britain's first professional gay theatre company. In their original manifesto, the stated purpose was "To counteract the prevailing perception in mainstream theatre of what homosexuals are like, therefore providing a more realistic image for the public and to increase the general awareness of the oppression of sexuality, both gay and straight, the impact it has on peopleâÂÂs lives and the society that reinforces it."