The Butch Monologues

Spokes and I very rarely venture out on the town on a Friday night but tonight was an exception. We met after work for a delicious, and very autumnal, meal at East Avenue Bakehouse (pumpkin soup followed by butternut squash gratin, since you ask!) before heading over to the Unity Theatre to see one of the most hotly anticipated shows in this year's Homotopia festival - 'The Butch Monologues'.

Anyone familiar with the concept of Eve Ensler's 'The Vagina Monologues' will be able to visualise the format but, in this case, the brains behind the operation is playwright Laura Bridgeman (pictured on the left) who has collected the stories of butch women, transmen and masculine women from around the world and shaped them into a powerful piece of theatre along with director Julie McNamara and The Drakes, a group of 'butches, transmen and gender rebels' who perform the piece in fine style.

It touches on childhood experiences, the reactions and attitudes of families, colleagues and total strangers, romance, sex, parenthood, clothes, personal grooming products and more. As such, it could hardly be more 'of the moment' given the current high profile debates about gender. What, precisely, do we, as a society, understand by the terms 'man' and 'woman' and is there even a need for these binary definitions of who, or what, we are? And, to what extent do all of us 'perform' our designated or chosen gender anyway?

The show's original cast included my dear friend, SuMay www.blipfoto.com/entry/2330343 and I remember getting excited reports from her as the piece developed and grew. I'd never had the opportunity to see it previously so it was a delight to finally experience it and to chat with Laura and the cast, including the extremely dapper Aston (on the right) after the show tonight.

The cast of five, standing at the microphones, had the air of the most snappily-dressed boy band ever (though, mercifully, without the repertoire!) and gave a performance which had the audience thoroughly engaged throughout. There were gasps of delight, surprise or shock, grunts of recognition or identification and laughs aplenty. Each performer shone and had their moments of genuine connection with the audience.

Speaking to friends in the audience after the show there was nothing but praise for cast and crew with the most memorable comment of the night being, "I don't know if I fancy them or want to BE them!" Truly, a ringing endorsement!

A word, too, in praise of tonight's BSL interpreter, Carl Lorcas, whose enthusiastic and balletic signing frequently had the audience (and, once or twice, the cast!) in stitches!

To my mind, gender (like sexuality) is something which exists on a spectrum and wherever we are on that spectrum (something which can be fluid and alter over time), what unites us is our common humanity. We need to look out, and stand up, for each other in all our diversity and beauty as humans and 'The Butch Monologues' is a wonderful illustration of why. Congratulations to everyone involved - it's a brilliant piece of theatre.

For today's song choice, O'Hooley and Tidow's 'Gentleman Jack' seems kind of appropriate... www.youtube.com/watch?v=YInK5yhBQE0

"Nobody likes a Jack-the-Lass"? I wouldn't be so sure!