Jonny Woo on new show Suburbia: ‘I’ll still be the first to get naked and jump on stage’

Whether it’s wild nights at New York’s seediest venues or becoming one of London’s most outrageous and beloved performers, Jonny Woo has lived several lifetimes in the pursuit of artistic liberation. Now, the underground legend and self-proclaimed “interminable show-off” is laying it all bare in his latest show Suburbia at the Soho Theatre.

It’s a far cry from his beginnings in the streets of Medway, Kent, where secrets lurked behind net curtains and conformity was the greatest virtue. But it was precisely this mundane starting point that sparked Woo’s explosive journey through the queer scenes of two continents, eventually establishing himself as the crown prince of London’s alternative performance world.

At fifty-something, Woo isn’t just reflecting on his past – he’s reframing it. Suburbia strips away the glitter to reveal the raw storyteller underneath – though knowing Woo’s reputation for theatrical anarchy, don’t expect too much restraint.

Here, Jonny talks discovering himself in 90s New York, his enduring love of stripping off on stage, and his advice for younger queens trying to make it.

What does the word ‘suburbia’ evoke in you?

I find there to be a stillness in suburbia. And secrets. It’s very English. This notion of living in our contained boxes, homes, our little castles, revealing only what we think the neighbours want to see. Suburbia feels mysterious, exciting and banal all at the same time.

Who was the first queer person you met that had a positive impact on your life?

I reckon my friend Claire McGee. She asked, ‘Are you gay?’ I said, ‘yes’. She said, ‘So am I?’. We explored the very minimal gay scene in Medway and chatted late at night in our kitchens about people we fancied at school. I’ve not seen her since school. ‘HELLO!’ if you are reading this.

In what surprising ways have you found your upbringing in Medway influencing your art?

It’s a recurring theme. A contrast between the ordinariness of home and my search for the extra-ordinary, to be extra-ordinary but always feeling so normal. I never hide where I’m from. Maybe it grounds me.

How did your time in New York change you professionally?

Well, it showed me what it was to be an artist, as a performer. I’d never considered drag before then and it showed me that drag could really be whatever I chose it to be. And I really learnt about lip-syncing in NYC by going to a fab Sunday night called Cheese Whizz, and an amazing drag queen called Sweetie.

If you could re-live one experience from your time in NYC, what would it be?

The first night I went to The Cock on Avenue A. It has been the blueprint for all the parties I’ve done ever since. The music, the performance, the crap cocaine and the men. Fabulous!

Your art has often been a blend of the experimental and alternative blended with reverential nostalgia. Was there a defining moment when you realised you found your drag identity?

Probably when I came back to London in 2003 and started doing parties my way and performing on my own. Experimenting in front of people and guiding the aesthetic. 2003 was an important year and a fabulous one.

How has your relationship with nostalgia changed in recent years?

It’s stronger, I think. It’s bittersweet in a way, but true that my generation – of gay men, queer people – are mostly alive, unlike sadly the one preceding which was cruelly decimated by the AIDS epidemic; so, my audience is growing older and wonderful and sillier with me and we collectively still long for and remember the good old days. Babes, the 90s were fab! No one can take that from us.

What is your biggest regret and what did you learn from it?

I’ve loads of regrets. Did I learn from them? No, because those opportunities are gone and it’s too late. I generally get different opportunities come my way anyway and I do my best to make the most of them. If I fuck it up, which still happens, got to keep on moving. Wasn’t meant to be.

What is a win to you?

Twelve points at Eurovision!

Where is your happy place?

Cycling around, preferably in the sun and if I’m lucky with a breeze behind me. Or playing 90s prog house at my night Where’s The Lid at The Divine.

When did you become comfortable with your body?

My comfort with my body ebbs and flows. I felt less than amazing in the 90s with the muscle culture, although I feel I understand where that all came from now. I’ve had skin disorders; thankfully that’s cleared up. I see my body now and I think, ‘Oh god that bits getting old,’ but I’ll still be the first to get naked and jump on stage. Does that make me comfortable with my body or an interminable show-off? Dance training helped.

How do you practice good mental health?

One step at a time on a plastic chair in a church hall.

What’s the best piece of professional advice you can give a young queen?

Be nice. Do the job you’re booked to do and try to give the sauce and powders a rest every now and then. And do YOUR thing, not what others think you should do.

And the best personal advice you would tell a younger Jonny Woo?

You can do ALL THAT sober. And better!

What is your life mantra?

You want to call yourself an artist? Then be one!

Jonny Woo: Suburbia is at the Soho Theatre from 14-25 January. Tickets are available from the Soho Theatre website.