Reuben Kaye review: A sparkly, raunchy expression of queer defiance
Edinburgh Fringe
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Edinburgh Fringe 〰️
Image: Jax Moussa
by Zoe Paskett
There’s a lot of fucking terrifying shit happening at the moment. Scratch that, there’s always something fucking terrifying happening. Trans people are being attacked and facing daily attempts to dehumanise them. Transphobes and homophobes are having their shitty opinions amplified. People who should know better are either doing nothing or stoking the fires, and people who gave up on good intentions years ago are sticking their oars in where no one asked.
Reuben Kaye rages against the onslaught of hatred queer people face, doing so in the age-old tradition of laughing in the face of fear. His show Live and Intimidating is ablaze with defiance, and through brilliant songs, quick wit and his trademark filthy humour, he turns that rage into art.
Raised in a family of brilliant women – including a great aunt who was sent to Auschwitz twice – Reuben was endowed with a confidence and self-belief that he has vowed to channel into uplifting others. And as a person with influence, Reuben doesn’t take his responsibility lightly. He uses his many talents – sharp comedy, soaring vocals, the Olympic-level core strength required to belt out a high note while upside-down on a man’s lap with his legs in the air – to ecstatically speak up for people being silenced.
The crux of the show follows the fallout of a joke he told about Jesus on TV that reached around the globe. Sometimes people get viral or newsworthy for something not worth repeating or even speaking about in the first place – so if Reuben was going to be famous for any joke, at least it was one as good as this.
It’s sparkly and raunchy, yes, but cabaret is and always has been entwined with the fight. Live and Intimidating shows that it’s not enough to settle for acceptance – in this room, queerness is going to be celebrated.
There are a lot of people saying, “why should I adapt the way I behave to make other people comfortable? I don’t owe you anything.” But it’s bullshit; we owe each other everything. We owe each other dignity and care and support. We owe each other the bare minimum of letting them feel safe. Because otherwise, what is the point? What a horrible way to live – if that’s how you decide to feel, no wonder hatred is all you can contribute.
But in a room commanded by Reuben Kaye, it’s pretty impossible to feel anything but joy. That kind of joy that we know so well: a joy imbued with fire, with the feeling that things could turn at any point, with collective love and the fierce urge to protect each other. Queer joy.
Reuben Kaye: Live and Intimidating is at Assembly George Square (Palais Du Variete) 20:05. Tickets here
