Words: Claire Smith
Lots of people have said lots of things about you. How do you describe yourself?
I won’t say I’m an extrovert but I will say my pronouns are Show and Tell. Like any person I am not just one thing. I contain multitudes- on a good night. I’m full of contradictions. I’m femme but I’m masc. I’m Australian but I can read. I hate sports but I will wear a jockstrap over my face if the plane loses altitude.
What do you mean to your audience and what do they mean to you?
How does anyone answer this question and not sound like a complete prat? I refuse to self-deprecate here so I’ll lean into the egomania. I think to my audience I am supremely talented, kind, hilarious and the heralding of a new era of comedy and indeed art. A shiny, glittering escape from the crushing and banal cruelty of a Tory Britain. A swarovski studded, queer rebellion to the overwhelming wave of the far right. Either that or I’m just some poof having a lark and trying to get laid.
If someone hasn’t seen you before what should they expect?
Syphilis.
Do you think politics is an important part of cabaret?
Cabaret is inherently political because it’s immediate. it’s now. It is, and always has been a response to society at the time. When bodies are being politicised, sex is being politicised, gender is being politicised, cabaret is at the forefront of the artistic debate. So it’s not just important to Cabaret. It’s the bones of Cabaret.
What would you like to achieve from this year’s Fringe?
A shift in society towards kindness, a wider appreciation of art not just as a recreational activity but as a necessity for society’s psychology, economy and future… Or if i can bag an acrobat and make it through fringe without a rampant drug addiction I’ll owe my manager 50 quid.
What do you think Ed Fest should ask you next?
I can ask and answer my own question? When will the lambs stop screaming…? When we’re allowed to eat the rich.
Reuben Kaye: The Butch is Back!
Assembly, Palais du Variete
15 – 27 Aug (not 21)
19:50 (60mins)
The Kaye Hole Hosted by Reuben Kaye
Assembly Checkpoint
4-5, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26 Aug
11.50pm
