Duckie (group)

Last updated

Duckie is a collective of performance artists that describes itself as "a Post Gay independent arts outfit." [1] They produce a mix of so-called "cultural interventions", such as club nights, new-mode pop, burlesque and performance events, as well as anti-theatre experimentation. They have described their work as "mixing the arthouse with the dosshouse" [1] and putting "highbrow performance in backstreet pubs and lowbrow performance in posh theatres". [1]

Contents

Supported by grants from the British Council and Arts Council England, Duckie is based in London but has played in Berlin, Germany, Greece and Tokyo as well as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Blackpool Tower Ballroom and the Sydney Opera House.[ citation needed ]

Duckie's work is characterised by its engagement with the queer lifestyle and community, showcasing queer performers and performance art at its weekly Saturday club night and providing "a creative forum for alternative gay and lesbian performance and culture". [2]

The company's outlook is distinctly working-class, drawing influences in John McGrath, [3] the Victorian music hall, punk culture and illegitimate theatre. [4]

Background

The collective dates back to a club night called Duckie that started in November 1995 in the south London pub Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), created by producer Simon Casson and compere Amy Lamé.

In a 2007 article for Time Out , Paul Burston wrote that at the start of Duckie's tenure the RVT was somewhat in decline: "Lack of investment meant the venue remained dark during the week, only coming to life at the weekend with Duckie and ... the Dame Edna Experience." [5] Burston also records that the opening of the gay nightclub Crash promoted Vauxhall's potential for hosting such ventures, leading to an influx of mainstream clubs into the historic gay area. [6]

Despite this, and the potential in new audiences attracted by the larger clubs, Duckie's growth was again challenged in 1998 when Lambeth London Borough Council and property developer CLS Holdings attempted to flatten the RVT to make way for a supermarket complex. [7] Duckie was instrumental in defeating this threat: as Burston notes "The performance club Duckie, which had breathed new life into Saturday nights, mounted a vigorous press campaign, protesting outside Lambeth Town Hall and saving it from the bulldozers." [5] In 2005, businessmen Paul Oxley and James Lindsay bought the RVT at public auction, bringing new investment to the venue and securing the site as a bar and nightclub. [5]

Performance events

In December 2002, Duckie's C'est Vauxhall Christmas show at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern created the format of sitting guests at tables and offering them the chance to order short acts, using "Duckie dollars", from a menu. [8] In December 2003, this was recreated as C'est Barbican at The Pit theatre venue at the Barbican Centre. [9] It won four awards including an Olivier Award for best entertainment show and returned to the Barbican in 2004. [10] [11] The show toured to the Sydney Opera House as well as Berlin, Thessaloniki, Birmingham and Manchester. [9] In December 2007, this show was recreated as C'est Duckie! at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, on New York City's Lower East Side. [12]

In 2006, Duckie created The Class Club at The Pit, a piece of event theatre that asked the audience to pre-select a social class for themselves, dress appropriately for the evening and then enjoy a meal and entertainment for their chosen grouping. [9] [13]

Cabaret performer Ursula Martinez has worked as part of Duckie, and it has also attracted performers such as Dusty Limits, Janice Connolly, Scott Capurro, Kiki and Herb and George Chakravarthi.

Related Research Articles

Gay village Geographical area within a city that is inhabited or frequented by LGBT people

A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establishments, such as gay bars and pubs, nightclubs, bathhouses, restaurants, boutiques, and bookstores.

Kennington Area of London, mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth

Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the Lambeth and St George's parishes of those boroughs respectively. It is located 1.4 miles (2.3 km) south of Charing Cross in Inner London and is identified as a local centre in the London Plan. It was a royal manor in the parish of St Mary, Lambeth in the county of Surrey and was the administrative centre of the parish from 1853. Proximity to central London was key to the development of the area as a residential suburb and it was incorporated into the metropolitan area of London in 1855.

Vauxhall District of London

Vauxhall is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

London Borough of Lambeth Borough in United Kingdom

Lambeth is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as Lambehitha and in 1255 as Lambeth. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier Street near Lambeth North tube station, though nearby Charing Cross on the other side of the Thames in the City of Westminster is traditionally considered the centre of London.

David Hoyle (performance artist) British entertainer

David Hoyle is an English performance artist, avant-garde cabaret artist, singer, actor, comedian and film director. His performances are known to combine many disparate elements, from satirical comedy to painting, surrealism and even striptease, much of which is aggressive in nature. Himself homosexual, Hoyle's work has often focused on themes in the LGBTQ community, attacking what he sees as dominant trends in "bourgeois Britain and the materialistic-hedonistic gay scene". According to The Guardian his performances have led him to become "something of a legend" on the London cabaret circuit.

<i>Me and My Girl</i> Musical premiered in 1937

Me and My Girl is a musical with music by Noel Gay and its original book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose. The story, set in the late 1930s, tells of an unapologetically unrefined cockney gentleman named Bill Snibson, who learns that he is the 14th heir to the Earl of Hareford. The action is set in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth.

<i>La Cage aux Folles</i> (musical) 1983 musical composed by Jerry Herman, with libretto by Harvey Fierstein

La Cage aux Folles is a musical with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein.

Gay Shame is a movement from within the queer communities described as a radical alternative to gay mainstreaming. The movement directly posits an alternative view of gay pride events and activities which have become increasingly commercialized with corporate sponsors as well as the adoption of more sanitized, mainstream agendas to avoid offending supporters and sponsors. The Gay Shame movement has grown to embrace radical expression, counter-cultural ideologies, and avant-garde arts and artists.

Mark Ravenhill English playwright, actor and journalist

Mark Ravenhill is an English playwright, actor and journalist.

Amy Lamé is an American-British performer, writer, TV and radio presenter, known for her one-woman shows, her performance group Duckie, and LGBT-themed media works.

Jim Carter (actor) English actor

James Edward Carter is an English actor, best known for his role as Mr Carson in the ITV historical drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), which earned him four nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2012–2015). He reprised the role in the feature films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) and stars as the main villain Rookery in The Little Vampire and its 2017 remake.

Ursula Martinez British entertainer

Ursula Martinez is a British theatre maker, performer and director. She grew up in South London, the daughter of an English father and Spanish mother, both teachers.

Christopher Green is an English writer and performer whose work covers comedy, cabaret, theatre and live art.

Jonathan Bailey English actor

Jonathan Stuart Bailey is an English actor. Known for his comedic, dramatic, and musical roles on stage and screen, he is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award as well as nominations for Evening Standard Theatre and Screen Actor Guild Awards.

New Art Club is a comedy, theatre and dance company formed in 2001 by Tom Roden and Pete Shenton. New Art Club's performances 'marry stand up comedy with choreographic minimalism and a touch of philosophy.' Roden and Shenton are co-artistic directors and choreograph their own work, whilst often integrating other performers and performing collaboratively with other groups. Their diverse list of influences include Mark Whitelaw, Graeme Miller, DV8, Merce Cunningham and Reeves and Mortimer. They have toured across the United Kingdom, including performances at the Dundee Repertory Theatre, the Soho Theatre London and the Liverpool Playhouse, and have also taken their work to Australia, China, the United States and throughout Central and Northern Europe. Their latest show, Feel About Your Body, has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe 2013 before moving onto a UK tour. New Art Club are Associate Artists at Cambridge Junction.

Barbican Centre Performing arts centre in London, England

The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory. The Barbican Centre is a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.

Royal Vauxhall Tavern Building in London, England

The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a Grade II listed gay entertainment venue in Vauxhall, London. It is also known as the RVT. It is South London's oldest surviving gay venue.

George Chakravarthi

George Chakravarthi is a multi-disciplinary artist working with photography, video, painting and performance. His work addresses the politics of identity including race, sexuality and gender, and also religious iconography among other subjects. He was born in India and moved to London, England in 1980.

Charlie Hides

Charlie Hides is a British-American drag queen, impersonator, actor, and comedian. Hides is known for his YouTube channel, and his participation in the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Following live performances in London clubs, Hides started a YouTube channel in March 2011. He has produced hundreds of videos satirizing popular culture, and impersonating celebrities such as Cher, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Lana Del Rey.

Marisa Carr, who performs as Marisa Carnesky, is a British live artist and showwoman. She uses spectacular entertainment forms, including fairground devices and stage illusion, and draws on themes of contemporary ritual, to investigate social issues from an ecofeminist perspective. Time Out declared that Carnesky's 'unique niche of interactive end-of-the-pier esoterica has fused ghost trains, anatomical models and tattoo culture with religion, feminism and class consciousness in ways both playful and rewardingly demanding.'

References

  1. 1 2 3 "SPILL Symposium - Speakers' Biographies". Live Art Development Agency. 2007-04-12. Archived from the original on 2007-09-05. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  2. ↑ "Duckie". duckie.co.uk. 2012-08-30. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2012-08-30.
  3. ↑ Casson, Simon (2010-11-22). "How can smaller companies do a Punchdrunk with their experimental theatre?". The Guardian . Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  4. ↑ "Artists Mentors". jumpmentoring.com.au. 2012-08-30. Retrieved 2012-08-30.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 Burston, Paul (2007-01-02). "Time Out tells the remarkable story of a true London survivor". Time Out . Archived from the original on 2012-12-24. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  6. ↑ Burston, Paul (2006-04-07). "Vauxhall gay village". Time Out . Archived from the original on 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  7. ↑ Northmore, David (1998-10-02). "Inn with a sporting chance?". Pink Paper . Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  8. ↑ Gardner, Lyn (2002-12-14). "C'est Vauxhall". The Guardian . Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  9. 1 2 3 "Duckie | The Class Club". Barbican.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  10. ↑ Shenton, Mark (2004-12-23). "C'est Barbican!". The Stage . Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  11. ↑ Shenton, Mark (2006-12-19). "A class(y) evening…". The Stage . Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  12. ↑ Sellar, Tom (2007-12-17). "Duckie: A 'postgay' club show crosses the Atlantic". International Herald Tribune . Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  13. ↑ Gardner, Lyn (2006-12-21). "The Class Club". The Guardian . Retrieved 2016-11-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.