London’s most loveable nature boy Bi-Curious George is the winner of Not Another Drag Competition 2022, as well as a 2021 graduate of the Soho Theatre Drag and Cabaret lab. Queer Planet has been performed previously at Southbank Centre, Kew Gardens and Soho Theatre.
Bi-Curious George joins us on Close-Up Culture to talk about the show, Queer Planet.
Hi! First things first, how are you?
I’m great thank you! Everything’s really starting to ramp up for Edinburgh, it’s very exciting (and terrifying).
In your own words, can you describe for us what your show is about?
Queer Planet is about queerness in the natural world and about reframing the way we think about our identities. It’s both a parody of and homage to Britain’s beloved nature documentaries-think David Attenborough but add some glitter and fishnets!
And if you were to condense that into three words, what would they be?
Joyful, reclamation-camp.
What has preparation for the Fringe looked like for you so far?
This is a new version of a show that’s been around for a little while now the incredible Liv Ello (Body show, Catts, swarm) has come on board as a director and is helping me remould it around the way the world looks at the moment. It’s lots of big conversations interspersed with truly ridiculous jokes being taken way too far. Only in a drag show could you talk about transpregnancy through the medium of slayyyter…
What do you want audiences to takeaway from seeing your show?
I want the audience to get swept up in the fluidity and the freedom in the natural world. I want trans-ness and queerness to be accepted for what it is; entirely natural and inevitable. I want all of us to stop underestimating animals’ complexity and to de-centre ourselves. I want all queer people to feel the liberation I have found in connecting to my queer family in the more than human world. I want everyone to leave with an enormous grin on their face.
How did you come up with the concept of your performance?
Conversations around identity, and especially queerness and trans-ness, have become so vicious in recent years. I wanted to talk about being queer in a joyful uplifting way that centres trans voices and, most importantly, makes queer people feel really f**ing good about being queer. Nature documentaries are such a clear cultural reference- they’re like comfort food. They’re wholesome, they’re a-political, they’re exciting storytelling. David Attenborough can explicitly describe animals killing each other, having sex, fighting for power- and there’s no moral judgement put on it. So noone’s going to get angry at a fish for changing from male to female- right
Well that’s what I thought anyway when I started making this show. Turns out people do get angry, but that just proves that we need to keep talking about this.
Edinburgh Fringe is certainly an incredibly busy event, what are you most looking forward to doing whilst there?
There’s so much boundary pushing, queer work being taken up this year I’m looking forward to connecting with lots of other artists, picking their brains over a pint and taking in as much theatre, comedy and cabaret as I can!
Where can people catch your show this summer?
I’ll be at The Pleasance 10 Dome, everyday at 16:15.
And where can people follow your work?
They can find me on instagram @bi.curious.george_drag
Finally, what would be your dream venue or theatre toper format?
I know this sounds like an affline, but taking something to The Pleasance at Edinburgh Fringe is feeling a bit like a dream at the moment! But to be honest, it’s all very well and good fantasising about big stages and huge audiences but the reality is that nothing beats performing in my favourite queer bars in London, surrounded by the community I love and uplifting each other and having a big dance afterwards. Cheesy I know, sorry.