Wilton’s Music Hall is to become the first theatre in London to offer a story hour for children told entirely by gender-fluid performers.
Tales In Drag, which kicked off in August and will continue over a series of weeks in September, will feature drag kings and queens and performers who challenge our expectations of gender telling old favourites and new stories to children and their families. Specially selected stories will encourage children to be true to themselves, feel confident and to embrace differences between themselves and others, no matter what those differences may be. Featured books include Tiger in a Tutu, the uplifting story of Max, the tiger with a dream who just wants to defy the odds and dance on stage, Elmer, the classic tale of the elephant who tells us it’s okay to be different and Red: A Crayon’s Story, all about identity and acceptance.
Each of the Tales in Drag sessions will be led by a drag king or queen; performers include the fierce and fun fairytale-teller Maxi More, fabulous cabaret singer Tricity Vogue, drag king extraordinaire Fanta LeMon and the colourful and charismatic Uma Gawd, all bringing the stories to life with their creativity as kids are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild. As well as stories, there will also be craft sessions held afterwards, themed to complement the magical tales told.
David Graham, Learning and Participation Manager at Wilton’s, said “Wilton’s are so proud to have Tales in Drag as part of our Learning and Participation programme; it’s such a celebration of joy and uniqueness that reflects the stream of colourful, wonderful artists we have coming through our doors. We’re excited to get going with this incredibly special and hugely fun series of storytime sessions for kids with our brilliant artists, who have promised to be as silly and jolly as possible!”
Tales In Drag was inspired by Drag Queen Story Hour, a hugely successful series of events that has been established in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. Members from the drag queen community regularly host a storytelling time for children in libraries and schools, promoting diversity, tolerance and open mindedness. There have been several imitations in the UK since, but this is believed to be the first of its kind in London, with Wilton’s being the first theatre to offer such an event. Its long history with drag, gender-fluid performance and all things cabaret, makes Wilton’s the perfect venue for an event that celebrates being unashamedly, proudly you.
