Duckie (group)

Duckie is a collective of performance artists that describes itself as "a Post Gay independent arts outfit."[1][2] They produce a mix of so-called "cultural interventions", such as club nights, new-mode pop, burlesque and performance events, as well as anti-theatre experimentation.[2][3] They have described their work as "mixing the arthouse with the dosshouse"[1] and putting "highbrow performance in backstreet pubs and lowbrow performance in posh theatres".[1]

Supported by grants from the British Council and Arts Council England,[3][4] Duckie is based in London but has played in Berlin, Germany, Greece and Tokyo as well as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Blackpool Tower Ballroom and the Sydney Opera House.[2]

Duckie's work is characterised by its engagement with the queer lifestyle and community, showcasing queer performers and performance art at its weekly Saturday club night and providing "a creative forum for alternative gay and lesbian performance and culture".[5]

The company's outlook is distinctly working-class, drawing influences in John McGrath,[3] the Victorian music hall, punk culture and illegitimate theatre.[6]

Background

The collective dates back to a club night called Duckie that started in November 1995 in the south London pub Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), created by producer Simon Casson and compere Amy Lamé.[4][7]

In a 2007 article for Time Out, Paul Burston wrote that at the start of Duckie's tenure the RVT was somewhat in decline: "Lack of investment meant the venue remained dark during the week, only coming to life at the weekend with Duckie and ... the Dame Edna Experience."[8] Burston also records that the opening of the gay nightclub Crash promoted Vauxhall's potential for hosting such ventures, leading to an influx of mainstream clubs into the historic gay area.[9]

Despite this, and the potential in new audiences attracted by the larger clubs, Duckie's growth was again challenged in 1998 when Lambeth London Borough Council and property developer CLS Holdings attempted to flatten the RVT to make way for a supermarket complex.[10] Duckie was instrumental in defeating this threat: as Burston notes "The performance club Duckie, which had breathed new life into Saturday nights, mounted a vigorous press campaign, protesting outside Lambeth Town Hall and saving it from the bulldozers."[8] In 2005, businessmen Paul Oxley and James Lindsay bought the RVT at public auction, bringing new investment to the venue and securing the site as a bar and nightclub.[8]

Performance events

In December 2002, Duckie's C'est Vauxhall Christmas show at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern created the format of sitting guests at tables and offering them the chance to order short acts, using "Duckie dollars", from a menu.[11][2] In December 2003, this was recreated as C'est Barbican at The Pit theatre venue at the Barbican Centre.[12] It won four awards including an Olivier Award for best entertainment show and returned to the Barbican in 2004.[2][13][14][4] The show toured to the Sydney Opera House as well as Berlin, Thessaloniki, Birmingham and Manchester.[12] In December 2007, this show was recreated as C'est Duckie! at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, on New York City's Lower East Side.[2][15]

In 2006, Duckie created The Class Club at The Pit, a piece of event theatre that asked the audience to pre-select a social class for themselves, dress appropriately for the evening and then enjoy a meal and entertainment for their chosen grouping.[12][16]

Cabaret performer Ursula Martinez has worked as part of Duckie, and it has also attracted performers such as Dusty Limits, Janice Connolly, Scott Capurro, Kiki and Herb and George Chakravarthi.

In 2022, it was announced that the last performance would happen July 2, 2022.[4][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c "SPILL Symposium - Speakers' Biographies". Live Art Development Agency. 2007-04-12. Archived from the original on 2007-09-05. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Sellar, Tom (December 16, 2007). "Conceptual Burlesque Behind a Velvet Rope". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Casson, Simon (November 22, 2010). "How can smaller companies do a Punchdrunk with their experimental theatre?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Walters, Ben (April 29, 2022). "Duckie is closing". Not Television. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Duckie". duckie.co.uk. 2012-08-30. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2012-08-30.
  6. ^ "Artists Mentors". jumpmentoring.com.au. 2012-08-30. Retrieved 2012-08-30.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ a b Walters, Ben (June 5, 2022). "Cheerio, Duckie: regulars look back at the LGBTQ+ club that broke the mould". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Burston, Paul (2007-01-02). "Time Out tells the remarkable story of a true London survivor". Time Out. Archived from the original on 2012-12-24. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  9. ^ Burston, Paul (2006-04-07). "Vauxhall gay village". Time Out. Archived from the original on 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  10. ^ Northmore, David (1998-10-02). "Inn with a sporting chance?". Pink Paper. Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  11. ^ Gardner, Lyn (December 13, 2022). "C'est Vauxhall". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "Duckie | The Class Club". Barbican.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  13. ^ Shenton, Mark (December 23, 2004). "C'est Barbican!". The Stage. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  14. ^ Shenton, Mark (2006-12-19). "A class(y) evening…". The Stage. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  15. ^ Sellar, Tom (2007-12-17). "Duckie: A 'postgay' club show crosses the Atlantic". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  16. ^ Gardner, Lyn (December 20, 2006). "The Class Club". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2023.