Lyall Hakaraia: Icy Gays
Icy Gays mastermind Lyall Hakaraia talks us through the event ahead of its return to the ICA on Friday 7 June.
How did you come up with the concept for Icy Gays?
The idea for the Icy Gays came from talking to the patron saint of the east end Princess Julia who suggested I put on a show on at the ICA. The title the event Icy Gays came from a pun on the letters of the ICA. The word 'gay' in the title is not meant to be an indication of the type of audience or performance that we are aiming to inform. If people did come expecting to see such things they would be in for a surprise.
What is your idea of a genderfuck performance?
For me a genderfuck performance is one that presents a different view of gender or sexuality that is outside the outdated binary system of gender.
How do you choose the acts for each event?
I think ideally I want to see performance with conviction, a true stand out individual who has created their own unique world and is able to share a glimpse of this world with an audience. There should be enough common ground in their performance that anyone in the audience can relate to and so feel included in the artist’s vision.
Any tips on how to incorporate genderfuck in your daily routine?
For me living in London every day is a 'genderfuck' day as there are many incidents and individuals that make you think about how other people view themselves and their gender identity and sexuality, with the acceptance of other’s difference occurring daily.
Can you tell us a bit more about the performers of June’s Icy Gays outing? What can the audience expect?
I am super excited about our upcoming Icy Gays event on 7 June. We have a great range of performers and performances, from a stroke recovering 71 year old tranny, to a living legend and performance artist from New York, with our own home-grown talent, featuring song, dance, film and food. It’s a wonderfully diverse evening and that's the way I love to progamme these events. I purposely do not curate the show so that it is slick and manufactured, I think of our shows as a journey with a few fantastic bumps and twists along the road.
What do you hope for the audience to take away from Icy Gays?
I hope that after an Icy Gays night that there are more questions than answers that the audience leaves with. Then I feel that our job has been done.
Advance tickets are available for Icy Gays, starting at 8.30pm on Friday 7 June in the ICA Theatre. Join the Facebook Event for updates and further information on the performers.
This article is posted in: Blog, Events, Interviews
