Alexis Gregory talks about FutureQueer, a subversive look at an imagined queer future, all set around the iconic Donna Summer queer anthem I Feel Love.
Alexis Gregory’s work appeals to cross-generational audiences, opening up new conversations for audiences. Gregory, a critically acclaimed writer and performer, presents a show that can only be described as funny, hard-hitting, and provocative.
FutureQueer, set in 2071, follows up on the success of Riot Act, which focused on LGBTQ+ pasts and is now looking to an imagined LGBT future. The moving, irreverent, and outrageously funny FutureQueer is part speculative queer excavation, part pop culture commentary, and part meditation on disco music as a metaphor for queer survival.
FutureQueer is at King’s Head Theatre Cabaret Space Sunday 4th February – Saturday 2nd March
You’re bringing FutureQueer to the King’s Head Theatre, what can you tell us about the show?
It’s wild, and a real trip, and very entertaining for the audience. It’s also very thought-provoking, and presents lots of new ideas to the audience in a very theatrical way. I used various theatrical forms to explore the ideas of queer futures; theatre, stand-up comedy, lecture, or TED Talk.
In the show I explore the idea of the whole world being queer in 2071, and how technological advances may affect queer people. I also look at the past, and present and blend it all together. The show is very funny, campy, and then serious and shocking the next moment.
What inspired the show?
Thinking about the differences that a LGBTQ community member younger than me may have, and of course, older too. What are the differences? What are the similarities? This lead me to thinking of time, and ‘queer generations’ which I don’t think follow the same structures and forms that we may associate with the wider use, ie ‘straight society’s use of the term ‘generations’. Our generational gaps tend to be smaller. The show is also a real tribute to queer culture, and the queer sensibility. I use everything from disco music, to The Village People, to Oscar Wilde, to radical academic queer theory to illustrate my points. They are all the threads that link us together.
Previously you’ve looked at LGBTQ+ pasts, what was the biggest challenge to now look at the future?
To make sure that I was totally unafraid in presenting some very ‘out there’ ideas to the audience, and to trust that they will go on the journey with me. Which of course they have. Audiences are fantastic, and in this day and age of watered down, simplified discussions, or simply an overload of information, they’ve totally surrendered to the show each previous time I’ve tested it out, and taken a leap into the dark with me. Even when I am playing an unborn queer baby in the show, or drag avatar from the future, they’re up for it, and taking it all in.
Did anything surprise you when you were writing the show?
Pretty much everything. The whole show is actually about me going on a journey, and trying to work out what the year 2071 is going to be about, so that I can make a show about it. I take the audience on that journey with me, and hopefully they view me as their own eyes. Very few of the facts, real life stories, or predictions for the future, that I present in the show, did I know about previously. I feature Donna Summer’s ‘I feel Love’ in the show, and use it as a metaphor for queer survival, and I am a massive Donna fan, and I even found out new things about her, and the history of the song.
What are you looking forward to most about bringing this show to the new King’s Head?
Audiences. Performing for people, and creating that connection, and the transaction that happens between them and me. I’m also really pleased to be performing in the new Kings Head building. I am in the cabaret space, which is the perfect spot for edgy and exciting work. I’ve seen the building already, and it’s great. It’s an exciting time to be involved with the theatre.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see FutureQueer?
Do it! I can promise you won’t be bored during this show, and I plan to make you think, laugh, and look at the world in a different way. You may also say that you’ve never seen a show like this one before, so come join me. I have no plans to perform the show again after this mini-run of six dates. Grab the future while you can.
