INTERVIEW – TOM RATCLIFFE WRITER OF FAME WHORE

Posted on by Amy Rye

Amy catches up with Tom Ratcliffe whose play Fame Whore is on now at the Kings Head Theatre.

Hi Tom, what inspired Fame Whore?

This is the first time I have written or created a show in collaboration with another artist! Gigi, who I have known for years, and I were asked to come up with an idea and to present some early work as part of a series of R&D showcases during the height of the pandemic. This was a time when much of our communication and human experience existed online and through screens of varying sizes. We spent hours dissecting social media, the currency that carries in the entertainment industry and how the ways we present ourselves online are often narrowed down to what gets the most engagement (from our own vanity, to becoming an ‘expert’ and speaking out on social issues). This led us to a discussion point around the currency a following and being of ‘relevance’ has within the LGBTQ+ community space. Appearing to be someone of relevance carries a currency in social circles and dating as well as your career. 

When so much appears to be riding on your online presence, we, often jokingly, picked apart the worst things people do in order to gain a large following and it is the insidious nature of this that is the groundwork for the buffoonery that takes place in our satirical parody musical.

You’ve had an incredible year, what’s been the highlight?

Thank you! It’s been surreal to have Evelyn, Wreckage and Fame Whore fall back to back this year. These are plays that I have been working on for up to six years in some cases, so the fact that they have all fallen within 6 months of each other is a complete coincidence! 

The highlight for me is working with Methuen on play texts for them. From childhood I have been immersing myself in plays, and I always dreamed of having my own work published by the companies who worked with my favourite playwrights. 

It’s very easy in this industry to invalidate your own achievements or skip over the positive, focussing on what you don’t have. It’s very important to celebrate the little wins on your journey. This has certainly been one of those moments for me.

What can people expect from the show?

This question is actually a line from the play aimed at the central character Becky Biro (about a show within the show). Her response is: ‘Twists, shenanigans & sisterhood’

People can expect the first two of these things from Fame Whore but certainly not the last…

Audiences should expect to see DRAG, a technically ambitious epic and to belly laugh through experiencing the world of social media satirised and clowned on stage for 80 minutes. 

What are the key themes / messages in the show?

The high-stakes need and desperation for fame and relevance perpetuated by social media. Accountability and forgiveness within society and smaller communities.

Where does the inspiration for your writing come from?

The inspiration comes from a variety of different places. I think in general my plays are all really different.

When looking at them together I think injustice is a key theme across my work, and the need to delve into stomach churning social issues which aren’t being talked about on a wider scale.

Can you give us a brief synopsis of Fame Whore?

Ooh I love an elevator pitch!

Fame Whore is a story about a drag queen who needs to increase her following to get on an infamous international reality TV show, the morally questionable path she takes to achieve this, and how she is then held to account by the community.

What can we expect from you next?

Initially you can expect me to sleep for approximately 2 months straight. I’m very excited for a little downtime immediately after Fame Whore (and by down-time I mean that I will just be working in my role at Wildcard rather than freelance work running concurrently with this).

The next Tom Ratcliffe show to hit the boards will be Wreckage’s run at London’s Turbine Theatre in January followed by an East Anglian tour.

Why do you feel this is an important story to be told now?

I think as a society we have become incredibly well accomplished when it comes to calling out bad behaviour and standing up against injustices in this world. I think we are less adept at what accountability and forgiveness look like. Fame Whore certainly is not the show to offer answers, but it offers a food for thought through satirising the court of public opinion that exists online. Not only this but the popularity of drag is at an all time high. A certain very popular reality TV show has played a huge part in catapulting what was previously a niche queer artform / protest into a mainstream staple on our screens and in our lives. Fame Whore celebrates this in every sense and offers a chance to experience what is possible when merging the world of RuPaul’s Drag Race with theatre.

Finally, with so much theatre on offer in London – why should people book a ticket to Fame Whore?

These are hard, depressing times and Fame Whore offers the chance to escape from and laugh about the insidious nature of the world we live in for 80 minutes. The musical is naughty, fun and truly unique in it’s style, performer (in drag artist / actor Gigi Zahir) and staging (you’ll see).

ABOUT THE SHOW

Fame Whore is on NOW at the Kings Head Theatre until the 29th of October

TICKETS AND INFO

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