The multi-genre show where drag, gender and quantum physics collide

Non-binary writer, performer and musician Ri Baroche is passionate about bringing diverse audiences to accessible, entertaining, queer-led stories.

Unafraid to tackle weighty subjects, they are also excited by the challenge of exploring seemingly disparate themes within a single show – all seen through an overarching lens aiming to boost representation of LGBTQ+ people in science and the arts, where they are currently underrepresented (according to the Arts Council Equality & Diversity report 2020-2021).

Such is unequivocally the case with Drag ‘n’ Drop!, currently on tour and arriving at The Alma Tavern & Theatre on November 10-11.

Underpinned by wide-ranging questions from quantum physics to climate change, gender and identity, Baroche’s drag persona ‘Dragona Budjet’ finds herself in an imagined, dystopian future where gender has been outlawed.

“If a drag queen falls in a forest”, we’re asked, “will her makeup survive?”

Baroche shared some insights with Bristol24/7 about the origins of the show, and the impact they hope it may have:

What emerged from your workshops with LGBTQIA+ youth in developing Drag ‘n’ Drop?

“The workshops were focused on providing opportunities for LGBTQIA+ youth around drama and performance, as well as initiating conversations around what a positive future would look like for LGBTQIA+ folks and better representation on-stage and in print.

“Elements of quantum theory were introduced to the groups, to challenge ideas of binary thinking around gender and identity, and to seek to generate interest in STEM subjects.

“The stand-out memory for me is chatting with the Breakout Youth group in Basingstoke about Superposition and the Double-Slit experiment as frameworks for a discussion of gender, and one young person shouting out, ‘I’m so excited to go into school tomorrow and tell everyone I’ve got quantum gender!’”

Where did the quantum physics angle come from?

“Given that LGBTQIA+ folks are underrepresented and feel unsafe within both society and the scientific community, and that scientific and medical theories are often used against the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly trans and non-binary people, I was driven to create work that better represented LGBTQIA+ stories, experiences and people on-stage, and used scientific theories as a direct support to this.

“Quantum theory challenges a binary understanding of the universe, in such theories as ‘superposition’, whereby a particle can be in multiple states at once, both up and down, left and right, dead and alive, as in the Schroedinger’s Cat thought experiment. I felt incredibly excited and seen by this, by the notion that the human lens appears to limit what we experience to being in a single state, when actually a quantum understanding of the universe seems to directly contradict this.

“On a personal level, this has made my day-to-day interaction with the world calmer and smoother, helping me to navigate issues like gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia and misgendering by referring back to this idea of a quantum understanding of the universe and the entities within it, including myself.”

Why, and how, did you decide to include climate change within the fabric of the show?

“The focus on climate change is consistent throughout my work presently. The challenge of addressing it on stage is how to make it interesting and entertaining while avoiding ‘being preachy’ or focusing on the negative. How do you get people to engage in and enjoy climate change material without feeling like they’re being lectured, without perhaps even knowing that’s the type of material what they’re watching?

“The window into this came through poking fun at the elements of drag performance that are environmentally unfriendly (there are a few!), from which stemmed one of the show’s songs, Biodegradable Tits! – a light-hearted satire of the difficulties of going green with a serious underlying message.

“This was then fleshed out to focus on and address the importance of climate action, as it will most adversely affect the marginalised, disempowered and underrepresented, such as those within the LGBTQIA+ community worldwide.”

What do you hope your work might achieve?

“The impact of all of the above is to seek to achieve better representation of LGBTQIA+ stories and people, drawing inspiration from the lived experiences of young LGBTQIA+ folks in the South and South West.

“I believe that through my research, along with support from Arts Council England and partner organisations, and sessions with young LGBTQIA+ folks, I have been able to achieve these impacts in developing the show. I am really excited to bring it on tour across the UK and to receive feedback from audiences.”

Drag ‘n’ Drop! is at The Alma Tavern & Theatre on November 10-11 at 8pm. Tickets are available at www.tickettailor.com.

All photos: Ri Baroche

Read more: Bristol drag clown Riss Obolensky brings ‘Healing King Herod’ to the Edinburgh Fringe

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