Charlie Josephine is a writer and performer. Their play, I, JOAN opened to great acclaim at Shakespeare’s Globe last summer and The Times gave it five stars, calling it “A gender-fluid revolutionary for our times. Intelligently epic…[and] also terrific fun.” One Of Them Ones is the dazzling new play from the writer, about two siblings living in a rural community trying to get their heads around gender identity. Charlie has written for QX a piece in which he gives some insight and context to his new play.
One Of Them Ones is on tour until 14th May, with London preformances at Brixton House Theatre, 13th and 14th May.
Tickets: https://pentabus.co.uk/one-them-ones
Charlie Josephine:
I’m making the work I needed to see growing up. Because joyous, confident representation is vital for our mental health. I need to see myself in stories to feel like my story matters. The erasure is violence. So the inclusion, more than that, the centring of trans people in stories is healing. Because the hetero-ghetto is wild right now, honestly, it’s, yeah, it’s a lot. The majority of noise about trans people, in the press and media, is dark as fuck. Hurt people hurt people, and the patriarchy is causing a lot of damage to cis straight folks, who are then spilling that out sideways onto us.
I’m trying to have compassion for the Terfs and Tories, but also I’m trying to exist safely. Art is prayer. Queer stories are oxygen. I really need that nourishment right now, and I know I’m not alone in that. We need to see nuanced, beautiful, messy humans that we relate to. We need stories that inspire us and uplift us and give us fuel. And because culture changes culture, perhaps some audience members will leave the theatre after watching this play feeling slightly kinder than before. So yeah, I feel really grateful for this job, for the opportunity to make the art I need to see, and also, I feel a great responsibility to get it right. Whatever ‘right’ means.
When Pentabus Theatre asked me to write a play for them, I knew instantly it would be a queer love story because the love is always louder than the fear. And I was personally feeling pretty scared, so I wanted to write some love into the world. I didn’t expect to write about family love, but these two brothers fell out of my pen.
‘One Of Them Ones’ is about two siblings who are trying to get their heads around gender identity. ‘Frankie’ is non-binary, trans masc, they think. The labels kind of do their head in. Their big brother ‘Michael’ is trying to be supportive but is scared of this whole trans thing. They have the argument and the laughter and ask all the big questions that I think some families wish they could have. The play is about their relationship, but also about masculinity in a broader context, the gender roles and rules we assign ourselves and each other, and how sometimes they squash us.
I was nervous about the opportunity to tour this queer and trans story to rural venues. Whilst it’s definitely a terrible myth that queerness is only found in cities, I wasn’t sure how this play would go down. My experience of making work that centres around LGBTQ+ characters has sometimes been personally very tiring. Often the company I work with may have the best intentions but sometimes accidentally puts too much emotional labour on the queer artist. I learnt a lot about making “queer work” in “straight venues” last year with I, Joan at The Globe.
It’s not enough to just plonk a non-binary actor on stage without making any cultural changes within the organisation backstage. It’s crazy to think of my identity as part of a “cultural war”, but the truth is the press and social media can be relentlessly transphobic. So I worked with Pentabus Theatre, having many conversations about how to make One Of Them Ones a joyful experience for both the creative team and the audiences. We have collaborated with Gendered Intelligence and All About Trans – two companies that I’ll never stop bigging up. They help theatre companies question the way gender is operating, often unconsciously, within the organisation. Questioning how we can keep the nonbinary creative team safe on tour. How we can communicate with venues to prepare ahead of our arrival, inspiring them to question gendered language, facilities, and practices. How can we collaborate with as many queer and trans artists as possible, to unpick the heteronormative, cisnormative, middle-class gaze we might unconsciously be making art through. Collaborating with Gendered Intelligence and All About Trans has helped us to make educated and empowered creative choices to then make juicy and joyful work. During a research and development period, I was also privileged to meet some of the incredible LGBTQ+ people in and around Ludlow. I’m proper grateful for their courage and their honesty.
I wanted to write something working class and down to earth. I wanted to write something funny and tender and sticky-messy in its honesty. I’m really proud of how ambitious this piece is in its theatrical form, it’s really contemporary and bold, and rural audiences deserve that just as much as urban venues. I’m fuelled by the idea of being of service to one young trans kid in the audience who really needs the nourishment of some art that represents them. I’m also excited by the idea of opening up conversations between people who perhaps have never met a trans person and have questions but are nervous of saying the wrong thing.
The creative team is brilliant! Laurie McNamara and Em Thane [playing Michael and Frankie] have found that exquisite balance between emotional vulnerability and take-the-piss-banter. Elle While is holding space beautifully as director, alongside Roni Neale, who’s the Associate Director and Queer Consultant. I’m so pleased that Pentabus have hired Roni, their clever brain and big, kind hearted approach to making theatre is invaluable for this piece. Then we’re lucky to be collaborating with Azara Meghie, who’s really making some movement magic. Azara is finding a way to open up the subtext and allow all the ugly, messy unsaid stuff to leak out of skin as expressive abstract movement. Dan Balfour is our brilliant sound designer, and Jen. L. Roxburgh is making everything look fantastic in gorgeous lighting. Verity Johnson is designing set and costumes. And a fantastic young artist Rye Frankie Larsen has designed the gorgeous art work. What a dream team!
‘One Of Them Ones’ is on tour right now, and it’s been really moving to see the positive responses from audiences. I’ve had so many beautiful messages from people who have been touched by the work. I’m buzzing that the play is coming to Brixton House in May. I’d never want to patronise or preach my politics, making anyone feel stupid or isolated. But I also want to make work that’s unapologetically queer, that’s enjoying its transness, owning its authentical truth with a cheeky, sexy swagger. Cus trans people are fit, let’s not forget it.”
Tickets On Tour: https://pentabus.co.uk/one-them-ones
Tickets for One Of Them Ones at Brixton House, London: https://brixtonhouse.co.uk/shows/one-of-them-ones/
One Of Them Ones by Charlie Josephine is on tour until 14th May, with London preformances at Brixton House Theatre, 13th and 14th May. 385 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London SW9 8GL, United Kingdom.
