Written, performed and composed by Brook Tate, the autobiographical new gig theatre show Birthmarked comes to Edinburgh Fringe.
A Jehovah’s Witness comes to terms with his sexuality in Birthmarked, presented as part of the Horizon showcase, and directed by Olivier Award winner Sally Cookson (Jane Eyre, A Monster Calls, National Theatre).
Birthmarked tells the true story of Brook’s experiences growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness until he was disfellowshipped at the age of 23 because of his sexuality. In a faith that believes Armageddon is imminent, homosexuals will be destroyed, and everyone believes in ‘The Truth’, a young Witness experiences turmoil and pain before discovering his own truth.
This funny and moving semi-improvised show follows Brook as he finds the strength to take a leap into the unknown, and shines a light on what it means to be marked… at birth.
More information can be found here
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You’re bringing Birthmarked to Edinburgh Fringe, what can you tell us about the show?
Birthmarked is a semi-improvised gig-theatre musical based on my experience growing up in and being excommunicated from the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It’s basically a gig that my band and I play to a whale, who then swallows us along with the audience, and in her belly, I discover my inner beast after looking more closely at certain scriptures in the Bible. It’s kind of a goodbye letter to my siblings, a thank you letter to my parents, a memorial for my nan, and, hopefully, a spotlight on an organisation that operates in a way that needs to be addressed. And, by the end of it, a very gay musical.
What inspired you to write it?
In 2016 I was disfellowshipped (excommunicated/shunned) from the religion I grew up in – the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I wasn’t allowed contact with my family or anyone I knew that was a witness, and as I had been born into the religion, that was pretty much everyone I knew. After learning more about how the religion deals with cases of child abuse, my parents decided to step away from the religion too. But, as a result of the teachings of the religion, this has led to a complete cut off between my siblings and my parents. I am not usually an angry person, but I felt so much anger when I saw our family falling apart and to me (and my very gay musical theatre loving brain), the most obvious thing I could do about it was to make a musical.
How did it feel writing such a personal story?
The show is structured around songs I wrote during the first few years of leaving the religion, and I had been singing these songs for quite a few years before I ever explained what they meant. As soon as I decided to tell the story, the show just wrote itself. I didn’t sit down to write it. In fact, the most I did was draw a design for a whale puppet, and then stood on stage with my band and we improvised our way through it. Eva Redman, my drummer, is the voice of Gayle the Whale, and the two of us just riffed off each other and that’s basically how it happened. What could have been a very painful and difficult process turned out to be one of the smoothest things I’ve created.
This is gig theatre, tell us more about the music in the show and your process for composing it?
I bought my first guitar from a charity shop when I was 16 (it’s the first guitar I play in the show too). Because I wasn’t allowed to socialise with my friends and family, I spent a lot of time sat on my bed and I started writing songs, trying to process what was happening with my faith and sexuality. I started making up lyrics and tunes whilst folding laundry in the basement of a care home, and I slowly built a little collection of songs. As a teenager I loved artists such as Etta James, Lianne La Havas, Amy Winehouse, Laura Marling, Joni Mitchell and of course…Barbra Streisand. All these artists have influenced me in so many ways – lyrically, melodically, and vocally.
And tell us a little more about your onstage band, what does it mean to you to have them performing alongside you?
The band on stage with me are all people I have met whilst living in Bristol. I met my first bandmate at an open mic about a week after moving to Bristol, and he was the first musician that motivated me to start building a fuller sound. He is also an illustrator (@tombonsonillustration) and as a painter myself, I was so inspired at the idea of having an ‘artist’ friend. Samuel Fox (@samuel.f0x) was studying music at university when we met him, and has just started releasing his own music too.
Eva Redman joined us one year after a drummer dropped out. She is a truly sensitive musician and songwriter herself, and turns out she’s quite the stand up (or sit down) comic too. Eddie Benfield is a violinist from Arising who came into our lives after his boyfriend got in touch on Instagram as he also grew up a Jehovah’s Witness, and Eddie just so happens to need a reason to quit his PHD in science… And Sam Fox (yes…a second Sam Fox) joined in the last few months. His fabulousness and sass hugely inspired me to inject more camp into the finale of the show. Without having met the musicians and friends I now play without, I would not have been able to tell this story. It’s not a story I could have told alone. I am incredibly grateful to them for supporting me in the way they do, and running with me…even in heels. Hahahaha.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Birthmarked?
If you are intrigued to know more about the inner workings of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and you’re up for finding out what happens when you get swallowed by a whale, and you don’t mind a few catchy jazzy soul folk musical theatre tunes, then maybe you should come see this show. Whatever you leave feeling, you’ll have seen something you probably won’t see anywhere else at the Fringe…. 😉
