Mari Moriarty will be starving when she comes off stage every night. There is a gag risk in one particular skit with a banana in her queer cabaret, so she prefers not to eat dinner before the performance, just to be on the safe side.
“I’ve never learned the art of the tease,” jokes the American theatre director and erotic artist when asked to give some teasers about Fempaths: Transistor Radio Hour, the ‘kaleidoscopic cabaret fantasia’ which she wrote and performs. “Some of the show is docu-drama. There are songs that I wrote; some are funny, some are harrowing, but every song has a twist. There’s deep throating, I read tarot cards, it’s a mix of history and comedy. And my piano.”
If that sounds sprawling, extensive, expansive, well, so is the trans experience. “Trans folk are never just one thing and neither is this cabaret!”, confirms the Fringe programme blurb.
“Trans people can be heroes, they can be sluts, witches, victims and everything in between,” echoes Moriarty, “I wrote a show that reflects that.” Fempaths includes the story of trailblazing trans rights activist Marsha P. Johnson, who co-founded the radical activism initiative Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) and died in suspicious circumstances. “Often there is a softening of Marsha’s story,” says Moriarty. “She got into fights, she was a sex worker. A lot of the art around trans folks diminishes us into villains or angels. That’s not accurate.”
Audiences will hear about trans icons and their adversaries, including German-born, LA-based pop star Kim Petras who began hormone therapy aged 12, and Ari Bowman, the 12-year-old trans boy from Pennsylvania who, in 2016, delivered a brave speech to his school board after a cisgender kid complained about sharing changing rooms.
“As a visibly gender-non-conforming person, I’ve watched the temperature rising in America for years,” says Moriarty. “I’ve seen fascism and bigotry seep in. I don’t think people are scared enough.”
One song references sexual assault and PTSD – something which Moriarty covered in her autobiographical protest play Jet of Blood, performed at the 2018 Fringe. “I think I’ve shown a lot of restraint,” she deadpans, “I only gave it one number this time. But sure, I still remember the collective eye roll I got from the NYPD when I went to report that rape. Transphobia affects people I love all the time and that’s really sad.”
Transphobia and the rolling back of freedoms for queer folk were major reasons why Moriarty chose to leave behind New York and relocate to the UK. She moved with her husband Justin Elizabeth Sayre, who has his own show at Underbelly, Justin Elizabeth Sayre Is a 40-Year-Old-Woman.
“I’ve done three Edinburgh Fringes before. I love the cabaret culture here. I’m grateful I had the capacity to get out. Not everyone can apply for an artist visa. I recognise we all have some level of privilege and I still feel guilt about that,” says Moriarty.
As a gesture of trans love and solidarity, Moriarty is offering free entrance to trans and non binary people. “OK, it’s not the best financial decision that I could make,” she says, “but I’m really excited. I’ve done parties and performances in New York where porn stars and sex workers could come along and not pay, it works on trust and that’s important.”
The venue is wheelchair accessible, there is creative captioning for Deaf and hard of hearing audience members and touch tours are available for visually impaired individuals; Moriarty is disabled and feels strongly about making her shows inclusive.
“This a politically charged cabaret, but it’s incredibly joyful. We cover addiction, chronic illness [and] queer history, but [we] also have a good time. I’m in my grandmother’s old dress, rhinestoned to the gods, this is my gay church, a place to share pain and joy.”
Fempaths: Transistor Radio Hour, Underbelly, 5-30 Aug (not 17), 8.45pm