Jessica McKerlie’s Fringe World show ‘Gender Spanner’ explores gender fluidity. Armed with a ukulele, spinning plates and an array of costumes that traverse gender stereotypes, McKerlie presents a smorgasbord of original music, burlesque routines and poetry with a common thread: Are you a man? Are you a woman? Are you sure?
You have a ukulele in the show, this always seems to be a popular instrument with Fringe performers.
I think the best thing about it is that it’s carry-on luggage. It’s an instrument, it’s a toy, it’s easy to replace if it breaks and you can take it on a plane.
Have you ever gone all rock n’ roll and smashed the ukulele at the end of the show?
I haven’t, but I do play a Black Sabbath cover in the show, I like playing heavy metal covers, so it could be in my future.
How did you show ‘Gender Spanner’ come about?
I lived in London for a few years and while I was there I was part of an amazing production called ‘Puff Ball’ which was an LGBT youth circus project, it was just amazing. It was a real eye opener to be involved in something that had Arts Council support and was supporting young queer artists. We worked together over a year, so you got to know everyone really well.
It was the first time I heard the terms genderqueer and genderfluid and it got me thinking. I was writing a lot at the time and I realised a lot of my writing was about coming out and gender. So I put all that all together and made a show.
A lot of people seem to struggle with the concept of fluidity, that idea that things can change, we seem to be pressured to ‘lock things down’.
I think it’s a lot to wrap your head around the first time you hear it. It some ways it’s still a fairly new concept. Society is very much ‘male, female – tick a box’. It’s on every job application, every form we fill out, the first question is, put yourself in a box. If it’s not something you’ve heard about it’s hard to understand. For me, the more I hung about people who thought this way, the better I felt, they became my family.
‘Gender Spanner’ is at The Ellington Jazz Club from 16th February,
head to www.fringeworld.com for details.
Graeme Watson
