A powerful new play from acclaimed trans writer Tabby Lamb, exploring the extraordinary true story of Michael Dillon and Roberta Cowell, The Law of Mayhem is at Anvil Arts, Basingstoke 18-20 Sep.
Ticket link: https://www.anvilarts.org.uk/events/the-law-of-mayhem
“The year is 1949, and Roberta Cowell; racing driver, RAF pilot, and ‘It’ girl, meets Michael Dillon; a ship’s doctor who pursued Buddhism into the high Himalayas. Together they will change the course of British transgender history. Yet after just three short years, they never speak again.
Separated by time and space, Michael and Roberta meet for one last impossible encounter, to find out if the thing that brought them together was the same thing that broke them apart – The Law of Mayhem.”
It’s good to hear about your new play. Dillon and Cowell are great topics and still very relevant today. Where did the idea come from?
The idea actually came from Proteus themselves; they reached out to me four years ago now to ask if I’d be interested in working with them because they were the first theatre company to ever support my work.
So, when I was a fresh-faced graduate from Dartington I made pay called Pond Wife which was a feminist adaptation of The Little Mermaid for young people.
The first part of that show was made at Proteus’ Creation Space and they helped us work out how to make theatre professionally.
And then they followed my career and reached out about 10 years later to ask if I would write a full play for them which is amazing!
I’d heard of Michael Dillon, but I hadn’t heard of Roberta Cowell, so it was fascinating to then dive in and actually have the time to do a lot of research.
Often when you get a specific commission, it’s because they have a slot in mind for when the show should be and you can get rushed through it, but Proteus really gave me so much time to research and so much help with my research.
They paid for a research assistant, they made sure there were other trans people involved and supporting me doing all of this. It’s really felt like such a natural journey.
You’ve been commenting and writing on gender transition for quite a while now. Do you think anything is changing for the better?
No, I think things are getting worse.
I think when I first started my career, I was coming in off the end of a lot of visibility and a lot of work that had been done by other trans people before me, particularly trans women and trans women of colour.
Sadly the sort of people who were able to make those statements or able to get that attention have sadly disappeared.
We’ve stopped being listened to, there was sort of this bubbling exciting time between 2015 and 2020 when it seemed like making a full-time career as a trans creator was possible.
There were a few of us who were breaking through, but since that time it’s all been the same people.
I’m yet to meet people who have come through after me despite the amount of work I do supporting younger artists.
There are incredible new trans writers out there, but venues aren’t giving them the time of day.
And that’s not just a theatre problem – we look at our government, we look at the Supreme Court ruling from this year, we look at the attitudes towards trans people today, and it’s clear it’s not yet changing for the better.
You have your own unique style as a trans woman. Is that an important part of your own identity?
I’ve talked a lot about my style because it changed dramatically after my transition.
It used to be quite pink and frilly, and I think since my transition I’ve definitely embraced a slightly more masculine style which is something I would have completely hidden away from before.
I wear a lot of blazers, I wear a lot of ties and shirts, I also wear a lot of cargo shorts – and when I was read and perceived as a man those things would have made me feel so dysphoric.
Now it’s actually quite interesting because I’m now on the other side of the gender binary, the ways that I flag queerness are completely different.
As a man to flag queerness you flag softness, femininity, and as a woman you have to flag butchness and masculinity. I’d like to think I sit comfortably between the two.
What should audiences expect from the show?
Audiences should expect to learn a lot about the fascinating history of Michael and Roberta, with an incredible cast.
This is a show that takes us up in the air both on spitfires, and also onstage in itself with a lot of aerial acrobatics.
We’ve got a majority trans cast, it’s my first time working with a cis performer in one of my plays which is quite funny.
And I just think it’s going to be a really exciting exhilarating and hopefully invigorating show for people to come and see!
Any further plans this year?
I’m getting bottom surgery this year! I have a Go Fund Me raising funds to support that process if you are interested in supporting that:
Looking forward to this, especially as I was the first person to bring Michael Dillon to public attention, as long ago as 1989.