An exile in London from Australia, Reuben Kaye’s cheeky cabaret is a filthy, fun frolic with fabulous vocals.
As political as it is passionate, Kaye’s work is perhaps not for the closed-minded or faint of heart, but this unapologetically queer show celebrates survival and difference.
Prowling the stage in vibrant make-up and a wide skirt, Kaye (“my pronoun is talent”) belts out “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Stones with the confidence of someone always searching for their spotlight.
Peppering the show with sex (and reflex) gags, Kaye connects with the audience with a sharp warmth and waspish charm. A cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” is fast-paced and angry; a bit of heavy metal and country & western showcase a powerhouse voice.
This is a kinky, edgy cabaret. Bitchy, glitzy, ballsy, glamorous and fiery, The Butch is Back is hard to ignore. Family and lived trauma is the backbone of the show: Kaye is Jewish and gay and carries the scars of both, referencing both the Holocaust and growing up queer with cleverly placed wit.
A ‘metaphor’ set in a shoe shop edges into the gender debate, where the message is clearly ‘who cares’. How refreshing when set against recent knee-jerk reactions to drag and trans communities.
Striding around the catwalk and audience, at one point, even lying supine across the front seats, Kaye is firmly content and in command.
The Jesus debacle of last year, where a joke led to a Daily Mail pile on and threats, is discussed, along with the teenage Kaye’s attempts to come out to his parents (father, a painter, mother, a filmmaker), with mixed success.
Art and artifice are part of the adult Kaye’s DNA, along with a healthy appetite for cruising and coitus (“I’m not a slut, I’m a people person”).
And in the end, curled up on the stage and singing “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”, we may get a glimpse of the youngster who was battered at school and now gives a big, feathered, velvet, red-lipped middle finger to those who caused hurt.
Reuben Kaye: The Butch is Back is at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, as part of the Winter Festival until 30 Dec with tickets here.
Reuben’s website is here with a lot more information: https://www.reubenkaye.com/.
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