BREVIEW: Skate Kitchen @ Midlands Art Centre 12-17.10.18

BREVIEW: Skate Kitchen @ Midlands Art Centre 12-17.10.18Words by Ashleigh Goodwin

Crystal Moselle’s Skate Kitchen is her sixth venture into the world of directing, and features a primarily female fronted cast, led by Rachelle Vinberg in her first feature length film. Vinberg plays Camille, an isolated teenager who enjoys nothing more than skateboarding and scrolling through her Instragram feed.

Upon following the female skateboarding collective ‘The Skate Kitchen’ closely on the platform, she attends one of their meet ups in NYC and quickly befriends them. From this Camille begins to navigate adolescence with her new friends in tow, as opposed to being alone with her mum in their suburban Long Island house.

I didn’t know what to except when going into the preview – organised by Film Hub Midlands in conjunction with Telford & Wrekin Council – having avoided researching the film until I was able to catch a screening. But I imagined it would be more of a documentary that focuses on the technical side of skateboarding. And despite this not being the forefront of the film, it was still woven successfully into the narrative to create a good balance of realism and fiction. You’re able to see that Moselle’s approach to the subject is authentic and well researched; indeed, the writer/director initially approached The Skate Kitchen girls after seeing them on the subway and was curious to know more, which is what spawned the making of the eponymous film.

At its core though, Skate Kitchen is not just a skateboarding documentary or drama piece but a modern coming of age film – one that is primarily (and successfully) directed towards females, as opposed to the relationship between them and their male peers which can often be the focus of such films. Although Skate Kitchen does touch upon this too.

Compiled of relative newcomers (apart from Jaden Smith), the cast is what makes Skate Kitchen unique and charming. The girls aren’t trying to fit into their assigned roles and the characters they play just seem like an extension of themselves, which makes sense given Moselle’s approach to the film. Due to the ease of their performances and how natural their chemistry is, it makes Skate Kitchen feel  authentic and intimate, like a fly on the wall witnessing real life conversations amongst a group of girlfriends. There are no weak performances within the cast, with each member bringing a distinct personality and something individual to the film. I felt this particularly extended to Janay (Ardelia Lovelace), whose character is played with such realism it almost felt like a documentary; Lovelace is really enjoyable and interesting to watch which makes it easy to invest, emphasise, and root for her throughout.

BREVIEW: Skate Kitchen @ Midlands Art Centre 12-17.10.18Skate Kitchen’s strengths go further than being well cast and directed; the film doesn’t just explore the world of females occupying the typically male dominated domain of skateboarding, but goes beyond that to incorporate the classic coming of age tropes in a fresh, modern way. This makes it accessible to those in their teenage years, especially female viewers.

Topics that are typically shied away from are spoken about and shown in length; scenes where Camille discusses periods, tampons, sexuality, and family relationships are dealt with frankly and with blunt honesty – mainly from Kurt (played affectionately and charismatically by Nina Moran). It’s through this approach that Skate Kitchen does the job of expelling and diminishing stigma around such natural issues, alerting audiences to the fact that these are simply normal.

Concepts such as fractured families, finding freedom, body dysmorphia, and first loves are also shown throughout the course of the film, but none of them feel underdeveloped or skimmed over, with all of them fitting comfortably within the film’s narrative.

The only pitfall is that despite having strong themes, it didn’t feel as though there was much of a definitive plot to Skate Kitchen. There was no big, main, end goal. But this doesn’t detract too much, as the film presents itself as more of an exploration of coming of age as opposed to a succinct story about it. In a way this even works to the film’s favour, as it makes it more true to life; Skate Kitchen still ends up where it needs to.

Although I did feel this issue diminished the opportunity to develop certain narratives, especially when it came to Camille’s relationship with her mum – played by Elizabeth Rodriguez (better known from her performance as Aleida Diaz in Orange is the New Black). At the beginning of the film, Camille’s mum is a constant on screen – banning her daughter from skating after she ‘credit cards’ herself on the board. Camille disregards this and, to add insult to injury, starts travelling to New York regularly to meet up and practice with the girls from The Skate Kitchen.

Halfway into the film their mother-daughter relationship is in pieces, but it suddenly becomes secondary and fades into the background with them only reconciling briefly on screen near the end. When they do reconcile it’s still touching, and the scenes of Camille holding her mum’s hand whilst guiding her precariously down the street on her board are some of my favourites from the whole film. Yet it would have been nice to see them resolve their issues in a full scene – or for the mum’s narrative to be woven in more evenly throughout the whole film, as opposed to heavily then not at all.

This point also extends to her relationship with The Skate Kitchen girls, after their explosive falling out near the end we don’t see them make up again and it would have been interesting to see how this played out on screen. Although, again, this isn’t necessarily a negative – this approach shows how insignificant and irrelevant teenage arguments can be in the grander scheme, and how things can go back to normal. Rather than showing a scene where they make up verbally, we end with shots of all the girls skating carefree down New York streets with nothing but music, shots of their boards, faces, and the city.

Overall, Skate Kitchen isn’t a film I will be eagerly waiting to re-watch, but I think it’s an important, heart warming, and entertaining film to put on your list. Also the influx of these films – namely ones that are female written and directed, and feature a female dominated cast – are important. They show a perspective not present in a lot of mainstream films and address issues or topics that are often missing too, especially amongst a female teenage or young adult audience – an agenda the UK distribution company for Skate Kitchen, Modern Films, has been working hard to promote.

The use of protagonists from different cultural, racial, and economic backgrounds is also a strong tool in storytelling, and allows film to be more readily accessible to a wider range of people. Not only that, but through sharing female experiences via film, audiences can find solace, solidarity, education and guidance that they may be lacking in the public sphere and it opens up a dialogue for certain issues and topics.

Diversity within film has always been important and although there is still a long way to go, with films like Skate Kitchen the future of fair representation does seem a little brighter.

Skate Kitchen – official trailer

Skate Kitchen (rated certificate 15) is out on general release, with screenings at Midlands Art Centre from 12th to 17th October. For more details, including a full programme schedule and links to online bookings, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/event/skate-kitchen-boarders 

For more from on Skate Kitchen, visit www.skatekitchen.co.uk

For more on Modern Films, visit www.modernfilms.com

For more on Film Hub Midlands, visit www.filmhubmidlands.org

For more on Midlands Art Centre, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

BPREVIEW: Heathers (30th Anniversary) @ Cineworld, The Mockingbird, The Electric Cinema 10.08.18

BPREVIEW: Heathers (30th Anniversary) @ Cineworld, The Mockingbird, The Electric Cinema 10.08.18

Words by Ashleigh Goodwin

Friday 10th August will mark the 30th anniversary of the cult-classic Heathers. To celebrate the occasion, multiple cinemas are bringing it to their screens for the first time since the film’s original release in 1988/89.

Heathers will be shown at The Mockingbird and The Electric Cinema on 10th August, with the start times ranging from 17:25 and 20:30 respectively. Tickets at The Mockingbird are priced at £5.70 or £8.70 (both including booking fee) for a ticket and a pint of MB lager. Further screenings will be held at The Mockingbird until 15th August, with Cineworld (Broad Street) screening Heathers for one night only on 16th August.

Tickets to The Electric’s Heathers: 30th Anniversary ‘What’s Your Damage?’ party on 10th August start from £12.45 (including booking fee) for one of their limited availability standard tickets. At the time of writing, all but one of their back-seat sofas have sold out, with the three-person Dietrich sofa still available for £16.30.

For direct event information, including film times, venue details, and online tickets sales, click here for Cineworld (Broad Street), click here for The Mockingbird, and click here for The Electric Cinema.

BPREVIEW: Heathers (30th Anniversary) @ Cineworld, The Mockingbird, The Electric Cinema 10.08.18

Despite opening to a lukewarm reception and a poor box office performance, Heathers grew to be the definition of a cult-classic and became ‘recognised as one of the high peaks of the teen movie genre’ since its original late ’80s release. Further to this, the film has spawned a modern-day remake in the form of a US anthology series – although the Paramount Network, the US production company who commissioned the series, has since dropped the project due to the content mirroring real life high school shootings in North America.

But what is too close to home for the American smaller screen still made it to the stage, with a rock musical adaptation of Heathers having run regularly for the past four years throughout North America, Australia, and most recently the UK – moving from off the West End to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in September 2018.

Heathers was directed by Michael Lehmann and depicts angst ridden teenager Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) who is attempting to navigate Westerburg High School as part of the popular cliqué the Heathers – a trio of rich, elitist seventeen-year olds. Veronica soon begins to realise that the cost of popularity is at odds with her morals and that the group may not mark her true place in the high school social hierarchy.BPREVIEW: Heathers (30th Anniversary) @ Cineworld, The Mockingbird, The Electric Cinema 10.08.18 This, combined with the arrival of a mysterious (gun-wielding) outsider Jason ‘J.D’ Dean (Christian Slater), means the normalcy of Veronica’s life begins to take a sharp decline. After the two direct a seemingly harmless prank on cliqué leader Heather Chandler (Kim Walker), in response to her unrelenting nasty behaviour, they ‘accidentally’ end up poisoning her and at J.D.’s suggestion frame it as suicide.

Veronica soon begins to realise J.D. isn’t the charming loner or idealist she first believed him to be, but a psychopath with an insatiable desire to eliminate all the popular students at Westerburg High – leaving Veronica in a race against time to stop him committing his most lethal act yet. What follows is quite simply a chaotic whirlwind of revenge, betrayal, more staged suicide, and numerous games of croquet.

Notorious for its solid casting and a screenplay that has birthed multiple ‘classic’ quotes, Heathers offers a warped, satirical portrayal of the adolescent journey. The outrageous black comedy manages to offer a bleak and ‘off the wall’ approach to the classic teenage high school film, whilst still remaining undoubtedly entertaining and topical.

As director Lehmann summarises, “we were looking at the John Hughes films [The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink] and saying ‘This is bullshit!’ The movies are fun, we like them, but we didn’t think they really represented the truly cruel nature of interpersonal behaviour in high school.”

Heathers screens at The Mockingbird and The Electric Cinema on Friday 10th August 2018 – and whilst The Electric’s Heathers: 30th Anniversary ‘What’s Your Damage?’ party event is a one off, The Mockingbird will be holding a total of five screenings with the last being on 15th August. Cineworld will be screening Heathers for one night only on 16th August.

For direct event information, including venue details and online tickets, to visit The Mockingbird click here, to visit Cineworld click here, and to visit The Electric Cinema click here.

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

BPREVIEW: Blame It On Bianca Del Rio @ Symphony Hall 30.07.18

BPREVIEW: Blame It On Bianca Del Rio @ Symphony Hall 30.07.18

Words by Ashleigh Goodwin

Following her sell out Not Today Satan tour in 2016/7 , Bianca Del Rio is back at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall with her Blame It On Bianca stand-up comedy show on Monday 30th July.

The evening’s entertainment starts in the Symphony Hall Foyer & Café Bar from 6pm with a live performance from Soprano Alexandra Bork and pianist Nick Bonadies, followed by a ‘pre-show party’ with DJ Lady Miss Ikea at 7pm. The main Blame It On Bianca show is scheduled to start at 8.30pm.

The event is strictly 16+ and is currently sold out, with no further tickets planned for release at the time of writing. For direct show information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Bianca Del Rio is primarily known as the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6, with her outspoken nature, caustic comedy, and razor-sharp wit quickly making her a firm fan favorite. Del Rio was further voted as the viewers’ favorite winner from Drag Race Seasons 1-6 in a poll conducted by Logo TV, the then broadcaster of the RuPaul show.

Bianca Del Rio solidified her competency and professionalism as a performer through iconic RuPaul challenges such as ‘The Snatch Game’ and the ‘Queens of Comedy’, with the show’s titular host saying of her stand up routine in the latter that not only did she “kill it,” she “murdered it”. This should give you a hint of the possible hilarity/havoc on its way to the Symphony Hall stage.

To open the night, FLUID Festival are presenting free pre-show entertainment ‘as part of Symphony Hall’s foyer events programme’ before the Blame It On Bianca Del Rio show. Soprano Alexandra Bork and pianist Nick Bonadies will be performing from 6pm, whose collaboration ‘focuses on opera’s heart-shatteringly high-diva moments to cabaret classics… and smashes down walls between classical concert halls and queer performance spaces. ’

Additionally, ‘international dance music DJ’ Lady Miss Ikea will be appearing from 7pm, playing a mixture of ‘the most glamorous deep, house, disco and wildest pop’ and getting the audience ready for the “clown in a gown” Del Rio.

And whilst self-proclaimed, “clown in a gown” only touches the surface of Bianca Del Rio, with costume designing, three stand-up comedy tours, numerous theatre performances, and film roles all under her belt. Del Rio was also the ‘first contestant in the shows’ history’ of the phenomenally popular RuPaul’s Drag Race ‘to make it through the entire competition without every placing in the bottom three for a challenge’ – with Del Rio’s ‘go hard or go home’ ethos also taking her recent Blame It On tour across Australia, Asia, South America, North America and mainland Europe before landing in the UK.

Not a bad list of accolades, let’s just hope she’s got some energy left. For as the queen of insult comedy has said of Monday’s event: “I hope you’re ready for some filthy, nasty, hateful humor because I’m coming to Birmingham with a brand-new comedy show”. Symphony Hall front row, you have been warned.

Bianca Del Rio brings her Blame It On stand up show to the Symphony Hall on Monday 30th July 2018. There will be pre-show entertainment from soprano Alexandra Bork and pianist Nick Bonadies, as well as a set from DJ Lady Miss Ikea in the Symphony Hall Foyer & Café Bar. For direct show information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.thsh.co.uk/event/blame-it-on-bianca-del-rio

For more on Bianca Del Rio, visit www.thebiancadelrio.com 

For more from the Town & Symphony Halls, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.thsh.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

FEATURE: Life’s a drag at Birmingham Pride

Nora Virus at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe & Ashleigh Goodwin / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

I am not a very social individual.

Approaching strangers for a conversation has always been a fear of mine; the idea of forcing myself to interact with someone whom I have never met fills me with unspeakable dread. I’m the type of person who crosses the road to avoid conversation. It’s ridiculous. Which is exactly why, as I walk hastily into Birmingham Pride, I wonder if I’ve made a terrible mistake. I’m here to talk all things drag with Pride goers, which involves a lot of approaching strangers. Too much for my liking. But I’m eager to learn more about the drag community and where’s a better place for that than Birmingham’s Gay Village during Pride weekend?

Aside from a handful of shows I’ve covered for Birmingham Review, the drag I’m used to is what you see on the Internet – polished queens posing for photos in their finery, wigs coiffed to perfection, lip-sync routines performed with choreography and backing dancers. Indeed, Ashleigh and I are covering RuPaul’s Werq the World Tour at the Symphony Hall in only a matter of hours. But I suspect there are sides to it I’m missing – a much more intimate layer to drag that, especially if I’m going to start covering it properly, I need to learn. It feels like I’m back at school all over again.

Dixie Normous at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeWe spot a drag queen posing for photos with the public, towering over them with a purple wig and sparkly dress. For Dixie Normous drag is a form of release, “I had a problem drinking and had to get away from the gay scene and I didn’t know how to get back in,” she explains, adjusting her wig. “Now, I’m eight years sober and it helped me return to it. I don’t perform in Birmingham, I’m not a working performer, but I work for pride events such as these, hostess events, DJ events.

Does she feel that there’s any competition in drag these days? Normous shakes her head, “No. I have friends who do drag as performers, they love performing but there is no competition between them. She pauses momentarily, “I mean, there is competition in the form of lip-syncing but it’s not malicious. I take my hat off to them, they sing for seven days a week and they say the same to me – there is mutual respect, there’s loads of work out there. Work seems to be growing for drag in the UK – are popular programs such as RuPaul’s Drag Race partially to credit for this? “RuPaul’s Drag Race shows a different type of drag from the UK scene – I grew up on different things,” she gestures to her beard. “Like, I don’t want to sacrifice my beard and UK and USA drag can be quite different, drag is quite feminised there. I’d never get away with this and my tattoo. A group of Pride goers run up, cameras in hand, and I know it’s time for us to leave, but not before Normous gives us a hug, a kiss on each cheek, and sees us off with a graceful wave of her hand.

Nora Virus at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeAlready I’m feeling more confident, and we weave our way through the crowd towards the Main Stage. Towering over everyone in eight-inch red heels and clad in what appears to be a skin-tight interpretation of my grandmother’s chintz curtains, Nora Virus is hard to miss. She’s on her way to perform with Glitter Shit on the Main Stage but is more than happy to stop for a quick chat. Judging by the crowds here at Pride, does she think that Birmingham’s drag scene has grown? “It’s definitely grown, not just in terms of drag but the whole queer scene has within the last five years or so,” she exclaims, posing against a backdrop of apartment buildings while I grab a few photos.

Nora Virus‘s type of drag isn’t what we typically see commercially. I ask how she feels about this and she shrugs, it’s a mixed response, “The media… it only contains certain types of drag… and you can be whoever you want to be, that’s what’s missing. It depends on what viewers get from it. If programs like RuPaul’s Drag Race open the door to drag, then it’s performers like us on the other side who are ready to educate the masses.” I’m aware she’s running out of time and her friend, Liam, directs us to a man behind us who is nursing a pint with a few friends. Paul McAvoy is the general manager for Holy Trannity, one of the biggest drag event organisers in the UK. If anyone is worth talking to, it’s him. We wish Virus luck and off she bounds, a foot taller than the crowd she’s wading through.

Liam’s right – McAvoy is more than happy to talk shop, despite today clearly being a day off. “We organise a lot of the drag queen events across the UK, especially the acts from RuPaul’s drag race,” he explains, sipping on his pint. “Drag’s growing throughout the UK, it’s not the normal kind of thing shown on TV, not the normal hosted stuff, it’s a different type of reality. More exciting and scandalous than what the public are used to.” And he’s right. Watch any episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race and you’ll see what I mean – tensions grow so thick you could cut them with a knife, and tempers flare on the regular between queens and judges. We chat more about drag and he mentions some exciting stuff that we can’t print (yet). We realise he’s working at the Werq the World show later and bid him farewell, promising to catch him at the Symphony Hall – I don’t want to take up any more of his time, especially as he’s been so patient with us.

Paul McAvoy at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBy now Birmingham Pride is heaving, and the bustling crowd has us feeling knackered. We set off towards the seating area and plonk ourselves down opposite a couple who are in the middle of a heated debate. It seems opinions on drag aren’t reserved to the performers themselves, as we question partners Liam and Chris. “Drag now is mostly RuPaul and that’s not drag!” exclaims Liam, throwing his hands in the air. “If you’re a supporter of drag you know your local acts, not just the famous drag queens. They have a habit of falling into the commercial pit; it’s become an act now where you just have to put a dress on and boom, you’re a drag queen. I push for him to elaborate.

“So, for example, Charlie Hides used to perform at Eden before she went on RuPaul. She was a local queen through Birmingham, London and Bedford and since she has been on RuPaul suddenly she’s charging double. It pushes out the local scene – like, don’t forget where you come from, don’t forget your roots. The queens will throw everything into their fame and they will fizzle out… RuPaul is like the drag equivalent of X Factor, and who remembers the last winner of X Factor?” I can’t even remember the last time I watched it, let alone who won. He nods earnestly, his point proven. “The RuPaul generation, to describe them like that, are keener on watching drag through a screen on TV as opposed to seeing it live. They see a very polished version, not what drag really is.”

So, what does Liam think makes a drag queen? He pauses momentarily, clearly deep in thought. “I think when you look at artists like Myra Dubois, she delivers everything in a political way, she speaks about everything that is going on in the world and it’s how you make the most of your platform. These days anyone will put on a dress and lip-sync for 20 quid, the acts are more in it for the fame. There’s a lot of old school drag that is getting pushed out and people aren’t getting a sense of what it was before.”Liam and Chris at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe My mind flips back to Normous and I curse myself for being so ignorant. Of course there are different styles of drag, why haven’t I noticed this before? And if the industry is so difficult to break, why are local queens doing it in the first place? “So, some queens will be spending double of what they earn, they’ll be doing back to back shows and it’s the reason why you do anything that you enjoy – you do it because you love it. Despite the long hours and all the misconceptions, you get with it. You love your job, and when you love your job it’s not work.

I think about my job as a photographer, and the nights I spend editing when I could be working a ‘real’ job, and finally I find ground where I can relate. Clearly there’s some real local talent I’m missing – who can Liam recommend me to watch? “So… Sandra, Danny Beard, Mary Mac, Viva Vivacious,” chips in Chris. “I think if you want to discover new drag in Birmingham, you should search for Eden on Facebook – the content they deliver on weekdays, on Thursdays, is great. Garry and Cal really know how to work their venue. I run a venue in Bedford that puts on drag acts called The Barley Mow, so I’m always looking for new talent”. I make a mental note to head to Eden on my next Thursday off, and to organise a road trip to Bedford with a few friends during the summer months.

By now we’ve been talking to the boys for over half an hour and we leave them to their pints before heading back off into the hub of Pride. We pass numerous dance tents filled with barely-clothed individuals performering inverted-apex-god-knows-what on stripper poles, and I can’t help but crack a smile. Pride is where people can be completely at ease. It’s a novel feeling.

Michelle (Umbrella Health) at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

At this point, Michelle speeds past in rollerskates, flinging rainbow condoms at anyone who will take them. She looks amazing, and I can’t help but snap a photo of her. She’s here with Umbrella Health, who provide free, confidential sexual health services across Birmingham. “We just usually hang around by the entrance, and hand out free stuff, answer questions… everyone is usually chilled out and happy,” she exclaims, filling my arms with pens, lip balms and yet more condoms. “We see a lot of drag queens come through, we always try and get a photo with them. I’m actually going to Werq the World later, I can’t wait!” She flashes a smile and skates off, a woman on a mission. Things to do, condoms to fling.

A trend seems to be emerging here – those who are fans of drag lean towards the commercial side we see on TV, while those who are actively involved in the scene tend to view the commercial side with weariness. The more we speak to people, the more I think that mainstream media is dispelling the truth that drag has roots that run much deeper than the odd TV series. It’s a large, complex community that deserves more recognition and exposure than it’s getting.

I spot local performer, Paul Aleksandr, having his photo taken with a gaggle of visitors. Draped in what looks to be the dismembered corpse of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I have them pose up against a fire truck while I snap some photos. They’ve just come off tour with Adore Delano with Drag Punk – how did they find it? “I know there is this stereotype of ‘millennials’ and they are given a bad reputation,” explains Aleksandr, “but millennials are passionate people, they shouldn’t be dismissed because of their age. The shows with them were immense… one of the people that was there has come to Pride with us today, she’s only fourteen,” they exclaim, gesturing over to a girl bedecked in a long, pink wig. The fan base for Delano’s shows seems to be much younger than I anticipated. I catch the girls eye and ask to interview her next – she nods with glee before posing for more photos with the public.

Paul Aleksandr at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Did Aleksandr find approaching members of the pubic hard at shows, or is it a skill that comes naturally? “It’s organic, if you do drag people talk to you – it’s a platform, it’s pushing people to do their thing,” they explain. “It’s not just a lip-sync but making a statement about important topics such as misogyny and empowerment. It’s a form of education, especially when some fans are this young – they can’t go to local shows as they’re all 18+.” Should drag be reserved for certain individuals of a certain age, or should it be open to all? “In the last four or five years, drag has become accessible to everyone. Gender is tied to identity and drag is a way to spearpoint identity. In the 80’s queer identity died for multiple reasons, and now you can build something with drag. Performers are responsible to educate the masses, especially on what we lost back then”.

Do they feel Birmingham Pride is inclusive for everyone who wants to explore drag including women? Aleksandr‘s hands fly up in the air animatedly, “Of course! Like, who the fuck cares if you have a clitoris – stop thinking about their genitalia! Out of like 16 venues participating in Pride, there is only one owned by a women. There can be issues within the community such as racism, transphobia and ableism… we should be aware to that.” If there are still issues of exclusion across the community, how does the social hierarchy affect those within it? “If you’re a lesbian you’re sidelined. If you’re bisexual you don’t exist. If you’re anything but white and gay, to fit in you try and be flamboyant, to mould yourself into what is deemed socially acceptable.” I look lost, so Aleksandr simplifies it, “the white cis gay man is in a nice mansion on the top of the hill but if you’re trans black woman then your house is burning down”. Ah, that makes sense. Horribly.

I must be looking slightly crestfallen at the entire thing, so Paul Aleksandr directs me to Rosary Bee and Amber Cadavarous. I recognise Cadavarous from the recent Drag Punk Candyland event at The Nightingale, as well as a Facebook video that went viral a few months ago where she explained her place in drag as a woman – honestly, before I saw it I had no idea women could even do drag. And it seems I’d be easily forgiven for this. “Trans women invented our drag,” explains Rosary Bee, “it’s very Shakespearean and the night life scene contributed to its growth. Women have always been in drag – it just hasn’t been documented.Amber Cadavarous and Rosary Bee at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe I mean, history was documented and created by guys and they chose what they wanted to be seen.” For a 14 year old Bee is educated beyond her years in drag, and defends her position to the hilt. It’s amazing to see, and that she’s so passionate about it. Bee explains how she looks up to Amber Cadavarous as she is also a woman, and how they met at one of Adore Delano’s shows before meeting back up at Birmingham Pride.

Amber Cadavarous is everything I imagined her to be – from her silver shiny boots, right up to the exaggerated bow in her hair that depicts the phrase DYKE in big, black letters. She’s patient and friendly while I question her on everything drag – especially their decision to bring Bee to Pride in drag. Does she think there should be age limits on it? “I agree there should be age limits, maybe, as there is sometimes a lot of adult content,” explains Cadavarous. “It shouldn’t be mutually exclusive though – there should be a space for young adults and below to explore drag. I used to sneak into clubs to watch drag performances. It helps you figure out who you are in regards to things such as your sexuality and gender – especially for women”. Does she feel that this could be possible in Birmingham?

“The scene is very inclusive in Birmingham in general. It’s welcoming and very diverse and I never felt like I couldn’t do drag here. I never asked for permission and I didn’t feel excluded, I found my family here,” her eyes dart to back Paul Aleksandr and Rosary Bee. “I wanted to educate and uplift women, and use my platform to support them – queer women especially. When we recently supported Adore, a lot of kids came up and said I didn’t realise I could do this, but you can, my love! I received a lot of messages saying this and seeing them realise they could do it was a wonderful feeling”.

We’ve been talking for so long that we fail to notice the sky turn an ominous grey, and rain soon starts to fall heavily. Hastily saying goodbye, Ashleigh and I dart through the crowds, finding refuge in the Main Stage tent with thousands of others. We spot two drag kings sheltering under the eaves of a food van; Adam All is in his trademark purple suit, while fellow performer Oedapussy is dressed like a Viking warrior, adorned in countless blue flowers. They look incredible.

I ask for a brief rundown on drag kings. “So, drag is much bigger than it used to be, the concept of drag king started in 1867 and it started underground with male impersonators on stage”, Adam All explains. “We didn’t have much of an uprising until the early 1980’s and 1990’s, now we have women’s bars and it’s really helped promote it in the last ten years or so. The number of drag queens is around the 100’s in the UK but when I started there was only a handful of us – here in Birmingham, Manchester, Brighton, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Now it’s all over the place in the UK. Drag kings are popping up everywhere and it’s constantly gaining momentum”. What’s to credit for the growth?

Oedapussy and Adam All at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe“Social media helps,” exclaims Oedapussy, “in London there are mixed shows and we go to see some queens and there is more of a crossover. Also, drag in general is becoming more acceptable, this has never really been covered before, like women doing it”. They’re right too – I was surprised to see women as drag queens. Having now seen two drag kings in the flesh, my mind is blown. I wasn’t wrong about needing a little education.

By now what was a slight trickle of rain has become a monsoon type downpour. Ashleigh wearily eyes my camera, and we realise we must make our way up to the Symphony Hall. We stagger out of Birmingham Pride and I bundle us into an uber, our clothes soaked, laughing at our misfortune. Only we could get caught in a downpour like this before a show.

I imagined leaving the festival with our carefully composed questions all answered. Instead, we’ve now got so many more to ask and clearly it’s going to take longer than a few days at Birmingham Pride to answer them all. But the warm welcome and engaging response we got from the drag artists we talked to, and the crowds buzzing around them, was infections – embracing us into a wonderful and creative world, but one with something serious to say. You couldn’t help but feel part of something. Even to a social recluse like myself.

For more on Birmingham Pride, visit www.birminghampride.com

THE GALLERY: Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

 

 

 

Words by Ashleigh Goodwin / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

Pride returned to the streets of Birmingham celebrating its 21st year, with 2018 being “the biggest Birmingham Gay Pride in our history” reaching ‘record ticket sales for an event that’s set to attract tens of thousands of people’. Birmingham Pride festival director, Lawrence Barton, noted, “it’s incredible to think how far Pride has come since 1997… it was on a single stage with only a few hundred guests”.

The two-day LGBTQ+ event was held over the late May Bank Holiday weekend and stretched across the whole second city; this years’ new additions included a street food court, a beer garden area, new locations for the dance arena and cabaret stage, and the introduction of a Future Stage for upcoming acts at The Nightingale Club.

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeIn traditional Pride fashion, the festival kicked off with the carnival Parade with this year’s theme as ‘Be You’. Although the Parade didn’t start until around noon on Saturday 26th May, many people were packing into Victoria Square – where the Parade began – from much earlier to ensure a good view of the ‘best and most visible procession through the city ever’. Introduced by festival organisers and the Birmingham Lord Mayor, the Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade stretched from Victoria Square down New Street, the High Street, Carrs Lane, Smallbrook Queensway, and Hurst Street, before reaching the main Pride Festival site at the Gay Village in the Southside area of Birmingham.

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeShops that lined the High Street hung out LGBTQ+ flags; Second Cup Coffee offered face-paint and glitter in the corner of its crowded coffee shop whilst people roamed up and down selling flags and whistles. As the start time grew closer, the High Street became a multi-coloured sea of glitter, leather and fishnet with people donning LGBTQ+ flags fashioned as capes or dresses. There was a tangible anticipation as a samba band filled the air to signify the start of the Parade, with a diverse array of floats and walking groups coming together in celebration and liberation; this year’s ‘Be You’ theme created an inclusive Parade that was both incredible and empowering to watch.

Corporate giants drove the route on double-decker buses or lorries covered with bunting, blasting upbeat music from their speakers as their staff danced to their hearts content. Amongst these were the likes of HSBC UK (the events’ leading sponsor for 2018), Virgin, Royal Mail, and BT.

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Numerous organisations and charities were also walking the parade, such as African LGBTQ+ activists Out and Proud, Stonewall, and the social welfare charity Samaritans who held signs proudly above their heads reading ‘come out for LGBT’ and ‘I could finally be myself’.

Additionally, there were a range of societies representing minorities groups within the LGBTQ+ community, such as Unmuted – ‘a social and peer support network in Birmingham for people of colour who identify as LGBTQI’, and Bi Pride UK – an organisation that strives to ‘create spaces where people who experience attraction beyond gender can be freely visible and celebrate themselves and their identities’,Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe as well as Leicester based social enterprise Pride Without Borders who aim to provide support to those coming to the UK to ‘seek asylum specifically for their LGBT+ identity’.

The walking groups spanned a wide range of individuals, from teachers, doctors, dentists, older members of the LGBTQ+ community, to people living with HIV and those within a number of religious and/or faith groups. There was also a strong core the Birmingham LGBTQ+ community; local drag artists and performers danced atop The Village Inn and The Nightingale Club floats, whilst the Symphony Hall showcased their digital van with a newly commissioned video of the YouTube star the Shirtless Violinist performing on their stage.

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

The whole ‘Be You’ Parade was sound-tracked by unrelenting cheering from attendees, with the atmosphere feeling full of camaraderie, joy and acceptance, welcoming whoever walked past. A couple drove by in an old-fashioned car wearing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle masks accompanied by two shirtless men clad in leather harnesses and short shorts, drag artists in the most elaborate and eye-catching costumes stopped by the barriers to pose for photos and chat, whilst the policemen observing the Parade joined in with their cheeks covered in multi-coloured paint whilst the blue light services in their full uniform (complete with multi-coloured leis and whistles) danced behind their vehicles as their sirens blared in time with the music.Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

However, it was the homemade signs that evoked possibly the most emotion and unity, reminding us all of the necessity of events like Pride. Amongst them were placards declaring ‘I deserve a great love story’, ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’, ‘I have a beating heart, I’m multidimensional, I’m a fully-realised creation’, ‘Black queerness matters’ and ‘Black, queer and beautiful’, whilst one simply stated ‘change your perception towards the LGBTI community’. And a sign celebrating being ‘homosexu-whale’. Say it quickly.

Throughout all of this, I’m grateful to be from Birmingham – as cliché as it sounds. The sheer amount of diversity within the ‘Be You’ Parade alone (before we are even half-way into the main Pride celebrations) is empowering to say the least. The Parade is a testament to Birmingham’s cultural diversity, and although a time for celebration it also serves as a reminder that people are still tirelessly fighting each day for the simple right to exist as themselves. Yet it’s through events such as Birmingham Pride that equality, unity and freedom can be fought for and achieved for so many.

Although I’ve tried before and try again now to properly explain Birmingham Pride, my words always fall short; I think it’s something you have to experience. Barton, however, summarises by stating, “It’s a wonderful celebration of peoples’ right to be whoever they want to be. The parade for me is the most important part of the festival as it shows how we are proud to be a diverse and inclusive city”.

 

 

 

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Birmingham Pride, visit www.birminghampride.com

Despite wanting to detail all the organisations, societies and companies who participated in Pride this year, the list is too extensive. However, for a list of all LGBTQ+ services within Birmingham visit, www.blgbt.org/directory