list.co.uk/festival Leyla Josephine & Harry Clayton-Wright | F E S T I VA L F E AT U R E S
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HC-W: She can’t ever see it. It’s too . . . it goes quite far. All my family are banned from seeing it!
LJ: Me and my mum went on a total journey with it. One of the reasons I am in drag is that I found some drag clothes of my dad’s so that got us on the step to making a drag show and there were no answers around it. We don’t know if it was a sex thing or a costume thing. My mum has no idea. HC-W: The ethics of working with a parent come into it, and you want them to feel comfortable.
LJ: Yeah, what does that mean for the family – whose story is it to tell? Everyone has their own version of the truth, it’s a thin wire. You have to be considerate. My mum was great, she was never going to stop it. HC-W: It was exactly the same for me, I went through that. How do you deal with it? I feel she enriched it, made it a fuller picture.
LJ: You’re trying to fi t a situation into a show. What was your technique for creating it?
HC-W: I amassed a lot of research. Had to whittle it all down. It became a process of cue cards on the fl oor, and of trying to piece it together. I had the idea in Brighton in 2016, developed it there, I’ve been thinking about it for roughly four years. How long was yours?
LJ: I’ve been working on it for two years. For me, I do believe that the personal is political, so that fed into it. I’d been working with [performance artist] Diane Torr’s pupil Annabel Cooper the Daddy character. It’s not only fatherhood though, it’s picking apart what a woman is meant to be on stage. in creating
HC-W: Do you think this is the work where you are taking the most risk?
HC-W: There have been points where I’d have to tap out for the day. But I have used it in a way to process it. I think this show is the most exposed I’ve ever been. I’ve created ways through the craft of dealing with it. My experience before with the Fringe was with cabaret shows, working with Miss Behave and Briefs, so the crowd are always receptive. Cabaret is designed to get the crowd pumped, with loud music and fl ashing lights. This will be very different. LJ: Because I’m based in Scotland, a lot of my friends come to see my work. My previous work, like Hopeless, was more like a gig. A lot of my audience don’t come to see theatre, so it’ll be interesting to hear what they think.
LJ: Yes, it’s so important. I have had to look at a lot of dark stuff. HC-W: I am so excited to see your show!
LJ: And yours. Can’t wait!
HC-W: I dealt with a lot of trauma, sometimes I live with it onstage, but I do think it’s important to deal with it . . . saying it, pushing it forward. Daddy Drag, Summerhall, until 25 Aug (not 12, 19), 5.45pm, £10 (£8).
LJ: Do you feel you’ve been traumatised by making autobiographical work? Sex Education, Summerhall, until 25 Aug (not 12, 19), 7.10pm, £12 (£10).
7–14 Aug 2019 THE LIST FESTIVAL 31