Imaginate at BOP Artists - Jordy

Photo by Andy Catlin
Photo by Andy Catlin

I am excited to be able to merge my experience as a Youth Arts Practitioner and Drag Artist in a production. I have been passionate for a while now to develop something that showcases drag for children to be able to see. In light of what is currently going on with education introducing an LGBT + curriculum, the timing feels right to produce a piece of theatre that demonstrates the spectrum of families and that ordinary doesn't actually exist among us. By working with other artists and organisations in this project, I will be able to ensure that many voices are heard, which is something I feel is a necessity in this instance. My Mum and Dad said... will be a chance for an audience to learn about other families, other than the conventions of a heteronormative world we naturally are programmed to believe exists.

—Jordy

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Jordy was selected following a call-out in 2019 in partnership with Birds of Paradise for an Imaginate residency at BOP Artists to support a disabled artist to develop a new performance idea for young audiences. The support included a development budget, space and a Go & See fund to see lots of performances.

Jordy is an Edinburgh-based artist who works between Edinburgh and Glasgow creating performance-based work that specialises in health and queer art. Their work looks at identity and persona in the art of drag and fantasy vs reality as well as examining social norms and perception of self. 

For this residency, Jordy worked on a new idea called My Mum and Dad said...

My Mum and Dad said... (working title)

A piece of interactive, drag theatre for young people exploring different families and people with no judgement.

Jordy's work has included most recently Wasted Youth (January 2019), a one man show looking at Cystic Fibrosis and Drag; the Making Space programme in collaboration with SYT, creating "Love, Delta F508" (April 2019), a piece about lung transplants, and will be creating "My Mum and Dad said..." which focuses on the conventions of family life.

Jordy sharing

Birds of Paradise Theatre Company (BOP) is Scotland's only disabilty-led theatre company. Our artistic vision is of a culture where disabled artists are recognised for the excellence of their work, celebrated for the stories they bring to the stage and are a vital part of the artistic landscape of Scotland. Our purpose is to be an accessible arts company that produces world-class productions and projects that place disabled artists centre stage and to develop future generations of disabled artists. BOP believes that disabled people continue to experience a lack of equality and considerable barriers within society, including the arts. Our work exists in part to challenge and address these.

We exist to:

  • make world-class, innovative and accessible work that embeds Creative Access and is made by disabled and non-disabled artists, writers and theatre-makers drawn from diverse cultures to reach a wide demographic nationally and internationally
  • play a key strategic role in Scotland’s theatre ecology and wider arts industry by supporting the sector to nurture the next generation of disabled artists, performers and audiences through addressing barriers to opportunities and involving disabled people in these processes

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Jordy Deelight