For its opening of Festiv.iel, the Croix Rousse theater in Lyon gave carte blanche to Soa de Muse, ex-finalist of Drag Race France I. For the preview of her show DIASPORA, she invited three sisters to the scene.
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By choosing to program a Drag show, Courtney Geraghty, the director of the Croix Rousse in Lyon offers the opportunity for artists practicing the activity of Drag-queen to leave their usual terrain of cabaret or post-TV show tour way Drag Race France. It’s a way for them to put their platform shoes in the door of a cultural institution.
Diaspora of Soa de Muse and Bia Kaysel with from left to right Soa de Muse, Afrodite amour, Shei Tan and Mami Watta
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© Franck Giroud
And Soa de Muse goes with both feet. Not only does she invite her friends to parade and perform playback on stage, but she chooses to support a cause: the denunciation of stereotypes about African worlds. Of Martinican origin, she claims queer and black resistance. She therefore shares the stage with “racialized” figures from the Drag scene. Mami Watta, from the Ivory Coast and whom you may have seen in the final of Drag Race France IIShei Tan, Creole, born in Reunion and regional of the Afrodite Amour stage of Guadeloupean origin and quickly passed through Drag Race III.
The point is set from the start with a short video of Christiane Taubira talking about black cultures. Between the sung parades of each of the artists, Soa de Muse expresses her anger. She poses as an activist denouncing the colonialism and racism that have marked black history. She and her friends put on the drag show that the fan audience came for. Black American or Caribbean music in support. But Soa de Muse also presents herself as a drag warrior brandishing her red lightsaber in the middle of the audience to the rhythms of a fighter.
The message is perhaps a little short but the presence of this Afro queen universe in a theater raises the question of the institutionalization of these cultures. It is also a debate which was opened by the journalist Mathis Grosos at the end of the show. Are we moving towards an institutionalization of queer cultures?
The counterculture aspect of queer shows is necessarily diluted when they pass through the door of a public theater. The glittery, festive DIY side undoubtedly loses a little of its impact and charm of the usual small places of residence. But the enthusiasm of these drag artists is infectious.
It is a privilege to be able to express oneself in an institution
Mami Watta is still surprised to be able to express herself in complete freedom, thinking of her friends from Ivory Coast. It is this freedom and this space for expression that Courtney Gerharty, the director of the Croix Rousse theater, continues to offer through programming throughout the year. More particularly during Festiv.iel, “a highlight dedicated to inclusive feminism, queer cultures and gender issues”.
The festival at the Croix Rousse theater runs until November 30 with four shows and numerous meetings. To be continued in particular in partnership with the Théâtre des Célestins “la nuit serise” directed by Mélissa Zehner.
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