![]() ![]() They don’t really know what you’re doing, but when I was five I really played up until I got my Beano order changed over to the girl’s magazine Twinkle. If you’re an entertainer you kind of almost distract people. I think if you’re creative – I was a creative little child, singing, dancing, drawing, dressing-up, playing – it kind of goes a bit in the mix, but I was just very driven, you know, a cheeky loud child, a bit of a show-off. We did have The Specials that was the best thing.īoy George said: “You don’t know you’re different ’til somebody tells you.” I didn’t actually feel different. I think where you were born… you know, if you kind of don’t fit in, there are certain cities you can do that easier than others and I play with that. In the show I use my Coventry/Midlands background because it’s kind of relevant. No one knew what it was back then and that has become a really key thing. For me, a lot of the show is about growing up in the 70s and this idea of being transgender when nobody had that language. There’s that side of it and then there’s a much smaller side of it, where people are transitioning quietly and getting on with things. You know, this whole Bruce Jenner thing, it’s all gone through the roof. Some people are saying: “Why are you saying you’re transgender on the flyer?” It’s about visibility and about having the dialogue. You have won! But when did you first realise you were in the wrong body? We like to think that picture says: “I’ve won.” That glittery material has turned into the set now, like a backdrop. We live in a very visually educated world and you need to hit the mark with a picture. They kind of excite me and actually most of my set budget went on my costumes. I’m not frightened of costume and clothes. I was a drag queen called Angel Valentine for quite a while, and once you’ve kind of pushed it to that place, even though I’m in a different world now, it kind of never leaves you. Kate O’Donnell: I work with Grace Oni Smith, a stylist who used to be a drag queen. The Widow Stanton: I must start by saying I love your photo… ![]() It is part of the Pink Fringe season within the Brighton Festival Fringe. She chats to Liz Arratoon about her self-penned autobiographical show, Big Girl’s Blouse – created with Olivier Award-winning director Mark Whitelaw – which describes her life growing up in Coventry during the 1970s. She is also a member of Playback Theatre. Her work celebrates theatricality – through humour, song, movement, film and costume. Kate now appears in contemporary queer theatre and cabaret, creating entertaining, gently political performances, which take pride and strength in being a transgender woman. She danced for artists such as Boy George and regularly performed and presented on television shows, such as The Girlie Show and The Sunday Show. In the 1990s she became a part of the alternative cabaret scene, creating theatre and film for Queer Up North. She got her entertainment badge at cubs and played all the female leads in her all-boys’ school plays. Transgender artist Kate O’Donnell – a girl born a boy, who became a woman – has been performing most her life. Kate O’Donnell, transgender artist and activist ![]()
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