Stance Theatre are bringing their hit play Drag King Richard III to the Riverside Studios from July 28 – August 3 following a successful run at the Bristol Shakespeare Festival.
Drag King Richard III explores the complexity of switching gender as Laurie (the main character) embarks on the journey of transitioning from female to male.
Gender-subverting photographer Del LaGrace Volcano – and acclaimed writer Laura Bridgeman (The Butch Monologues) – will be in attendance for post-show discussions with the audience.
Drag King Richard III is funny yet serious, probing but light hearted and offers some genuine laugh out loud moments whilst exposing the taboo of the transgender person.
The issue has become highly topical lately with the increased exposure of trans people and their plight in the media. Actor Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black) recently became the first trans woman to appear on the cover of Time Magazine, and new role models are emerging in the UK, including the writer Paris Lees and iconic DJ Munroe Bergdorf.
Life in the wrong body for Laurie, born biologically female, is explored through Shakespeare’s deformed villain, Richard III, and the long term friendship Laurie has with La Femme; a butch lesbian who occasionally enjoys dressing up in feminine attire. The play seamlessly weaves classical dialogue through contemporary text, and to stunning effect; the notorious seduction lines are quipped over a sexually charged Tango sequence.
La Femme finds her friend’s gender persuasion difficult to accept and begs Laurie not to “mutilate her body.” She exclaims “I’ve known her a lifetime and now she wants to change pronouns on those memories. Will he still look like my friend?” As Laurie’s transition progresses, their friendship becomes increasingly tested.
Drag King Richard III examines queer identity head on. Even La Femme (a liberated lesbian) is forced to confront her own prejudice; she is butch, but likes the trappings of femininity and passing for ‘straight’. Laurie has no inclination to play that game, it is more than mere costume, he is a man trapped in a woman’s body, the wrong body, and he sets out to change this. Gender identity is at the very core of Laurie/Laurence’s life; it is taken seriously, battled with, and ultimately provides salvation.
Timely and relevant Drag King Richard III takes its audiences on a spell binding and thought provoking journey, full of pathos and wit, as they follow Laurence’s struggle to transition at any cost. The play offers no easy answers, it enthrals and surprises while questioning one of the last social taboos of our modern age.
What: Drag King Richard III
Where: Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9RL
When: Monday July 28 – Saturday August 3 at 8 pm. Matinee Thursday 31 at 3 pm, Sunday’s performance (August 3) is at 5 pm
Cost: Tickets £17 and £15 concs
Del LaGrace Volcano is the guest speaker Monday July 28 – Wednesday July 30
Laura Bridgeman is the guest speaker Thursday July 31 – August 3
Volcano’s slide exhibition will be on display in the foyer.
To book tickets, CLICK HERE:
For box office telephone: 020 8237 1111
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