Exclusive | Jamie Fletcher talks activism and new show ‘Dancing Bear’

A glorious drag queen enters the stage, a carefully constructed fountain of make-up and hair. She is gorgeously warm, ferociously talented, she sings with a beauty and a coarseness, an infectious sense of laughter. Colourful, warmly feminine, hints of the angelic. Behind her, illuminated by a glitter ball and low lighting, is a band of well-dressed musicians.

This looks like a drag show, but there’s a difference. This drag queen, Divina De Campo, has a heart-wrenching tale to tell. A tale full of furious compassion, candour and humour. A tale of the Dancing Bear.

Part-theatre show, part-gig, Dancing Bear is an unflinching provocation addressing the often desperate balancing act many LGBTQ people continue to attempt between personal integrity, social and cultural acceptance and spiritual peace.

The show explores personal stories around the subject of gender, sexuality and the Christian faith through the use of live music, dance, storytelling and drag performance. With a cast of 10 multi-talented performers, musicians and dancers, Dancing Bear deftly swings between the bleak and the bawdy. At its heart is a question that is relevant to people of all backgrounds and beliefs: ‘how and who should we love?’

My name is Jamie, I’m the director of Dancing Bear. I’m queer and I’m Christian. I suppose if you make theatre about anything that is inherently queer or religious it has a potential to cause controversy.

But what I’m trying to do with this show is open up positive conversations between Queer and Christian communities: communities that have a history of not necessarily getting along.

It’s a vital subject. The Anglican church has power and influence in our society whether we like it or not. 26 leaders representing the Anglican church sit in the House of Lords and one million children are educated through their schools. Things are changing, though.

The last few years have seen ripples of conversations about queerness happening throughout Christian communities. People have stood up and spoken out: Christian theologian and Evangelical Steve Chalke came out in favour of same sex marriage (but was kicked out of the Evangelical Alliance for it); or Christian worship leader Vicky Beeching came out as Lesbian. Things are moving forward, and about blooming time!

As Nadia Bolz-Weber, the founding pastor of All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado, said, “if your church doesn’t have a drag queen it should get one”.

Owen Farrow AKA Divina De Campo is the drag queen and lead performer in our show. You may have spotted her on telly or as part of the Holy Trannity tours with Bianca Del Rio, Adore Delano and various other top queens.

She’s an incredible performer and singer. In fact I am lucky enough to be working with a whole company full of amazingly talented people. We have a Humanist and a Pagan on stage, there’s Atheists, Agnostics, Christians, people who identify as queer, some gay and some straight.

I believe that it’s diversity of beliefs and identities within the company that gives the show integrity, because we’re not just speaking from one perspective.

Dancing Bear is funny, frank, honest and definitely not preachy. We’re not trying to tell you what to think. At its heart this is a show about a search for peace, happiness and, most importantly, love. Everyone wants to experience that.

The show also forms part of The Dancing Bear Trilogy, a series of experimental films, theatrical performances and thought-provoking publications I’ve been working on for the past few years, aiming to engage different audiences, particularly Christian audiences, in conversations about LGBTQ issues. Theatre, art and music are incredibly powerful tools for activism. I personally think the theatre is a really exciting place.

You meet as a community, as a congregation. You’re in it together, witnessing something live and in the moment, and that’s so powerful. I love seeing shows that entertain me, but that also make me think or inspire me to make a change. If Dancing Bear can move just one person in the audience it will have done the job for me, but I hope it sparks a larger conversation, one that I feel is long overdue.

This February marks LGBT History Month (which this year has a theme of faith and sexuality) and also sees the premiere of our show Dancing Bear at West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds, and Contact Manchester.

We are also publishing the Alphabet Club Anthology Book as a compilation of stories, articles, confessions, photographs, poetry, illustrations and artwork from different LGBTQQIAAP people about faith, gender and sexuality.

The Alphabet Club Anthology Book includes contributions from activist Peter Tatchell artist and gender documenter Fox Fisher, author and psychotherapist Alex Drummond,and Muslim drag queen Asifa Lahore (Muslim Drag Queen) and many more.

So Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Dancing Bear, a show that will entertain you and make you think, whatever your gender, sexuality or faith perspective. Hold onto your jauntily angled hats, my friends, you’re in for magical night.

You can watch ‘Dreams’ by Jamie Fletcher from the theatre show Dancing Bear below:

 

Dancing Bear: West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, 10 February.

Box office: call 0113 213 7700 or go online wyp.org.uk

Contact, Manchester (part of Queer Contact Festival), 11 February.

Box Office: call 01612740600 or go online contactmcr.com/dancingbear

The production will also tour in 2017.

For further information visit The Dancing Bear Trilogy website or Facebook page.