Putting Words in Your Mouth by Scottee at the Roundhouse featuring Lasana Shabazz
Scottee is a consistently thoughtful and provocative performer, writer, producer and now director. His new project, Putting Words in Your Mouth, is a piece of lip-synch theatre engaged with diversity and disenfranchisement within the British LGBTQ scene. It’s based on hundreds of interviews carried out across the country and staged at the Roundhouse with three performers of colour, Lasana Shabazz, Travis Alabanza and Jamal Gerald.
I interviewed Scottee about the show for RunRiot and we discussed queer identity, Thatcher’s legacy, Brexit, the dubious influence of RuPaul and why Scottee is not currently performing in drag:
“I don’t want to be associated with a programme that isn’t gender neutral or a movement that is inherently misogynistic – the Drag Race cultural hegemony. Because it’s the dominant voice of our community, it has an obligation to that community and the leader of that cult saying women don’t belong in this world and using language like ‘fishy’, it’s allowing certain gay men to live out their misogyny. It feels like a step back in alienating women, femmes and dykes again. And the transphobia as well. Come on! For some trans people, the T-bomb is triggering. To identify as a tranny for one night cos you think it’s funny – that conversation is no longer funny, interesting or valid. We need to move on.”
Putting Words in Your Mouth runs at the Roundhouse from November 22 to December 3. More information here.
