Backstage is a lonely place
Step into the green room with Lady Christina as she leaves the stage after another performance in another venue above another pub. It could be your last chance to see her, but then she's said that so many times before, why should you believe her this time?
Because tonight is different. Drag has become a drag. Christina is tired of metro-sexual audiences looking for something a little risqué that they can tell their mothers about, she's tired of young drag queens who make it look so easy, and she's tired of having to put on the make up and become someone else every night.
But what's buried beneath the make-up? Chris Laneghan has been Lady Christina for so long that he doesn't know where she ends and he begins. How can he give up being her, if there's no him to go back to?
And why did Christina come into his life in the first place? Sometimes drag is not just put on to entertain an audience.
Leave the glamour and the costumes behind, and get to know the person behind the make up.
'The script by Andy Moseley, who also directed, is gripping and intense and Moj Taylor gives us a powerful set of mental images through his quietly angry performance. Layer upon layer is warmly/brutally exposed and we learn and appreciate more and more what has become a muddled life. We come out challenged, disturbed, not quite angry: it’s a sharply-observed piece which raises questions, answers some, and raises more.' Buxton Fringe Review
'A coruscating 50 minutes. Moj Taylor creates a highly interesting if not thoroughly likeable performer, who seems to cover a not entirely successful career with bitterness and gall. A totally believeable character, who has a lot to say about Queer identity, personality, individualism and the freedom to be who you are. Well worth a visit. Scene Magazine
Because tonight is different. Drag has become a drag. Christina is tired of metro-sexual audiences looking for something a little risqué that they can tell their mothers about, she's tired of young drag queens who make it look so easy, and she's tired of having to put on the make up and become someone else every night.
But what's buried beneath the make-up? Chris Laneghan has been Lady Christina for so long that he doesn't know where she ends and he begins. How can he give up being her, if there's no him to go back to?
And why did Christina come into his life in the first place? Sometimes drag is not just put on to entertain an audience.
Leave the glamour and the costumes behind, and get to know the person behind the make up.
'The script by Andy Moseley, who also directed, is gripping and intense and Moj Taylor gives us a powerful set of mental images through his quietly angry performance. Layer upon layer is warmly/brutally exposed and we learn and appreciate more and more what has become a muddled life. We come out challenged, disturbed, not quite angry: it’s a sharply-observed piece which raises questions, answers some, and raises more.' Buxton Fringe Review
'A coruscating 50 minutes. Moj Taylor creates a highly interesting if not thoroughly likeable performer, who seems to cover a not entirely successful career with bitterness and gall. A totally believeable character, who has a lot to say about Queer identity, personality, individualism and the freedom to be who you are. Well worth a visit. Scene Magazine
Your green room invitation is pending...
...and there's more than one way to accept.
Your next chance to see Make-up live is at Eden Court, Inverness on 30 July. Click here for tickets.
Alternatively, there is a recording of the show made in 2020 for the MarshStream International Solo Festival in California, and Melbourne Digital Fringe. If you'd like to see it, please head over to our contact us page, send us a message, and we'll send you a link and ask for a donation.
Your next chance to see Make-up live is at Eden Court, Inverness on 30 July. Click here for tickets.
Alternatively, there is a recording of the show made in 2020 for the MarshStream International Solo Festival in California, and Melbourne Digital Fringe. If you'd like to see it, please head over to our contact us page, send us a message, and we'll send you a link and ask for a donation.
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Christina's Crew of Creatives
Make-up is brought to you by NoLogoProductions. The team for this production is; Lady Christina: Moj Taylor Writer: Andy Moseley Directed by: Andy Moseley and Moj Taylor Sound and Light: Emma Burton Photography: Bethany Blake (Brighton performance shots by Siobhan) |
More to see and read
Want to see some behind the scenes footage of lockdown rehearsals? Click here Want to see more pictures of the live show and short film? Click here Want to read about why Drag Race divides opinion amongst drag artists and fans? Click here Want to know more about Lady Christina, the man behind her and the parents behind both of them? Click here Want to know more about Section 28 legislation that was in force in the UK from 1988 to 2003? Click here Are you a venue or promoter interested in finding out more about the show and maybe bringing it to your venue? Click here |
Production History
Make-up was due to be performed at Brighton, Manchester, Buxton and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals in 2020. Needless to say, most of these did not happen, but that was not the end of the story. Thanks to the Highlands and Islands Touring Network we were able to make a 15 minute short film version of the play. It was seen by The Marsh Theatre in San Francisco and we were invited to perform the full play online for their International Solo Festival in October 2020. That same month, the show finally had it's first performance in front of a live audience at CornerHOUSE, Surbiton ahead of a four day run at Sweet Werks, Brighton for the boutique style 2020 Brighton Fringe. A recording of the show was also part of Melbourne Digital Fringe in November 2020.
In 2021, Make-up returned to Brighton Fringe at Rialto Theatre, and was also performed at Under The Fringe, for Buxton Festival Fringe. More dates are scheduled for 2021 and 2022.
In 2021, Make-up returned to Brighton Fringe at Rialto Theatre, and was also performed at Under The Fringe, for Buxton Festival Fringe. More dates are scheduled for 2021 and 2022.
Thanks to...
NoLogoProductions would like to thank Andrew Jefferson-Tierney for the idea that developed into the original short version of the play, Catherine Exposito, Arron Usher and Blazing Hyena for being the first people to put that version before an audience at a scratch night and for the suggestions that played a vital part in getting the ball rolling on the longer version, Breakwater Theatre for commissioning the writing of the longer version, Jayne Williams and New Perspectives Theatre Company for mentoring and support with the final script, Bethany Blake for the superb photos and trailer, and Siobhan for the performance shots from Brighton Fringe. Also thanks to all at Leith Depot for use of their venue for rehearsals and to A New International for permission to use Let us not Speak of Sin in a trailer for the play that is still to be made...
