Scorch Read online

  Stacey Gregg

  SCORCH

  NICK HERN BOOKS

  London

  www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

  Contents

  Title Page

  Original Production

  'Gender fraud' and Discussion

  Note on Performance

  Epigraph

  Characters

  Scorch

  About the Author

  Copyright and Performing Rights Information

  Scorch was first performed at the Outburst Queer Arts Festival, Belfast, in 2015. It was presented in Paines Plough’s Roundabout at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, on 5 August 2016, before touring Ireland. The cast was as follows:

  KESSY

  Amy McAllister

  Director

  Emma Jordan

  Set / Lighting Design

  Ciaran Bagnall

  Sound Designer

  Carl Kennedy

  Costume Design

  Enda Kenny

  Movement Director

  Nicola Curry

  Movement Consultant

  Oona Dorherty

  Video/Filming

  Conn McKermott

  Production Manager

  Ross McDade

  Stage Manager

  Ashley Smyth

  Graphic Design

  Ben Willis at HiJump

  Producer

  Una NicEoin

  ‘Gender fraud’ and Discussion

  Stacey Gregg

  When I began writing Scorch, the first cases of ‘gender fraud’ appeared to involve cisgender female teens. But as more cases occurred, some involving trans men, I needed to ensure the story was being told carefully. There are limitations to that as I am not transgender, and the idea of cisplaining makes my blood run cold. So we consulted transmasculine groups and non-binary advisers and had a talkback with people from across the gender spectrum.

  When it came to publishing the play, I was initially reluctant as I didn’t want to put another traumatic story out there, and

  I really want this story to date fast. But it might not. And there might be young people out there who don’t go to theatres but who might get their hands on this. So we’ve gathered some activists and more voices here to discuss these cases and what

  it means to them.

  Trans Media Watch

  We’ve followed a number of case of so-called ‘gender fraud’ over the past few years and have spoken with court staff, journalists and some of those directly affected about this issue. We have seen people’s lives turned upside down in situations very much like the one Kes experiences in the play – people who were simply beingthemselves and did not imagine that they could be doing anything wrong. It’s particularly difficult for trans people to declare their trans status when they don’t know that that’s how society understands them. It’s worrying that being trans is treated like this when, as the play notes, other things are not – not only does it imply that there’s something bad about being trans, it implies that it’s the worst possible secret a person could keep. We don’t believe that most reasonable people would agree with that.

  Although we have had some success in persuading individual journalists and programme-makers to handle this issue more sensitively, most of the press is still fixated on the idea that it’s all about predatory lesbians and deception. This illustrates the level of homophobia still present in media culture, and it’s very difficult to tackle. It encourages transphobia and potentially also creates dangers for intersex people, whose bodies may differ from what partners expect.

  We are always available to help journalists who find themselves struggling with issues like this. It’s really important to get it right because the media shapes public discourse and that, ultimately, shapes the way that people are treated by the law.

  This play is doing its bit to move society in a more humane direction, and we’re grateful for it.

  Professor Alex Sharpe, School of Law, Keele University, LLB, LLM, PhD, Barrister

  In recent years, trans and gender-queer kids have been convicted of sexual offences on the basis of ‘gender fraud’. Most have received a custodial sentence, in one case eight years, and all have been placed on the Sex Offenders Register. These cases are a cause for concern, not only because desire-led intimacy ought not to be regulated through the criminal law, but because trans and gender-queer kids are singled out for special attention. Sexual encounters are always preceded by imperfect information about lovers, yet law, in the main, considers apparent consent valid. However, the problems with these kinds of prosecutions run deeper than legal doctrine. ‘Gender fraud’ narratives are ultimately about cis power and privilege. Their central motif, ‘deception’, functions both to wound ontologically and to foster misunderstanding of trans and gender-queer lives, as well as the motivations of young people exploring their gender and sexuality.

  Scorch forces us to see things from the point of view of Kes, a young person whose emerging gender identity, embodied and real though it is, does not lend itself easily to our impoverished ‘either/or’ mindset. The play leaves us with discomforting though important questions.

  Ruth McCarthy, Outburst Queer Arts Festival Director

  The question I get asked most often in relation to Outburst is ‘Why do you use the word “Queer”?’ I’m never sure how to answer without getting overly enthusiastic about certain artists or activists and insisting that someone leaves with a stack of 45s from Outpunk Records piled up to their chin. But to talk about Scorch is to talk about Queer, so I’ll try.

  Queer is an unapologetic celebration of difference, a non-judgemental recognition of human beings in all our complexities and contradictions. It is not always clear-cut or binary; it is challenging and suggests that questions are often far more useful, and far more interesting, than answers.

  When I first read Scorch, what struck me most was not just the raw beauty of the language but also the realisation of Queer. Scorch doesn’t offer tidy answers. It has instead a compassionate understanding of the spaces we need to allow each other to sit with questions.

  Outburst is fiercely committed to supporting the development of new queer theatre and to partnering with writers and companies who can bring queer work to life for a whole new generation. In Stacey and Prime Cut, Outburst has found natural and generous allies who offer us fresh understanding of what Queer is at a time and in a place where perhaps we need it most.

  Naomhán O’Connor, non-binary transgender activist

  When I was approached by Outburst Arts to consult on Scorch,I was initially quite wary. Stories about transgender people are so often misrepresentative of our community that I was cautious of getting involved. However, I was sent the script to read in advance of meeting the actors and director and my fears were assuaged. This story of a gender-questioning teenager resonated so strongly with me that it could have been my story that was being told.

  The bodies and gender expression of trans people, both young and old, are continually being policed by society. Our stories are most often told through the cisgender gaze so as to highlight our difference from ‘the norm’. As a writer and an activist, Stacey has been very careful in her research to ensure that the story does not sensationalise or delegitimise the trauma that so many young trans people experience.

  If you are a transgender or non-binary or gender-questioning person reading this play, angered that yet another cisgender writer is telling our story, I say this to you: Give it a chance. This story might just touch a nerve in a way that you didn’t think possible for a cisgender person to reach.

  If you are a cisgender person, remember that our stories are best told by those who have the lived experience of being scorned by society for living our truth. Stacey, through her desire to tell the truth of our experi
ence rather than telling the most sensationalised story, has managed to create a masterpiece that cuts to the bone. Remember that real people have been treated this way, and consider your attitudes towards our community before policing us.

  That trans people are being forced to out themselves before becoming intimate with another person is a violation of our basic right to privacy. The issue is not with our bodies, the issue is with society’s perpetuation of a norm that simply does not exist. We have become so obsessed with genitals that we have forgotten that we are all basically the same: humans with emotions.

  Fox Fisher, artist, film-maker and campaigner

  The reporting of the incidents involving Gemma Barker, Gayle Newland, Chris Wilson, Kyran Lee or Justine McNally are complicated on many levels. For most people, it may seem clear cut, especially if they followed each case through the mainstream media.

  However, rarely has the accused been given an interview. In the case of Gemma Barker, a documentary gave platform to the two girls who had been deceived, and their family, about what had happened. I cannot really say what actually went through Gemma’s mind or why they did what they did. That’s something only they can say. I am intrigued to hear everyone’s perspective and the intention behind what they did.

  In this digital age we live in with all the social platforms and social media, technology has enabled many people, particularly trans people, to exist as an avatar which may be more fitting that the body we currently inhabit. Is this deceit? For some trans people, living as their true selves online is the only option that we have. We are not able to express ourselves or come out and live our true and authentic lives, so look to online platforms in order to explore and find a way to exist as who we truly are. And I don’t think this is something only trans people do, I think it’s something a lot of people do for a variety of reasons.

  Maybe Justine or Gayle or Gemma didn’t have the words or the agency to formulate or explain their own identity and this was the only way for them to try and desperately express who they are and what they felt like. For someone who is ashamed of who they are, perhaps acceptance and support may have created less risk-taking and extreme behaviour. Trans people don’t want to be judged or made to feel less than human. When you’re raised in a society that has such rigid gender roles and enforces heteronormativity, it can be so hard and traumatising to try and navigate your way through it when you don’t fit in. It’s like everyone else got a manual on how to behave, what to do and how to feel and you’re the only one who didn’t receive it in the post.

  So in each case, we are looking at many different aspects that haven’t necessarily been explored. What do these cases tell us about gender and identity? Does this punishment have underlying homophobic implications, since they were all discovered to be assigned female at birth?Without justifying what they did, it’s an important aspect that needs to be weighed in. Because we all do things for a reason. If the reason Chris, Kyran, Justine et al.did all this is because they didn’t have the agency, opportunity or knowledge to formulate and explain their own identity, it’s a problem that we as a society need to fix. We also need to look into where we stand with education about sexuality, sexual health, consent, body image and more. We need to realise that there are so many things we aren’t talking about and that we are not doing well enough. There are so many conversations we are not having with young people today that could make people understand boundaries, consent, different identities and experiences.

  What’s behind this is a culture that views trans people as something no one would ever want to be and it creates a never ending pit of self-hate for trans people who feel they don’t match with the sex and gender they were assigned at birth. Some of us are so ashamed and have such deeply embedded hate for ourselves that we’d rather do anything we can to hide that fact and therefore try to either deny it or take it to extremes by trying to pass as a cis person. To them, being trans is something so awful, that they’d never want to live in a world that would view them in that way; as freaks.

  Again, I’m not excusing any sort of aggressive behaviour or sexual abuse. However, to be completely marginalised and outcast from society for who you are, makes you do messed-up things and really affects your mental well-being on many levels. And something’s not right when a judge gives more lenient sentences to paedophiles than he did to Gayle Newland.

  If trans people were accepted in society, they wouldn’t feel the need to look to online forums or create online identities because they could truly live out their true and authentic lives in society. But right now, this isn’t a reality for most trans people. Things are thankfully moving forward and I truly believe we can reach that point, but right now we aren’t treating trans people right and we aren’t making sure everyone feels accepted and has the opportunity to be who they are.

  These types of stories could be about any queer person that is ashamed of their sexuality or gender identity, which then spiralled into something out of hand as a way to mask their own identity. This could have been me. This could’ve been my partner Owl (who is also trans). This could’ve been anyone. This is what can happen when we live in a society that makes people feel ashamed of who they are. This is what can happen when we don’t have those conversations.

  Support and Further Resources

  www.stonewall.org.uk/help-advice

  Switchboard lgbt+ helpline, tel: 0300 330 0630

  genderedintelligence.co.uk

  Samaritans tel: 116 123 (UK & ROI) email: [email protected]

  Great care has been taken to avoid undermining the women who believed they were in relationships with men in these cases, but there are still lots of questions. We have a way to go to be able to talk about these cases in nuanced public discourse. We need to be able to hold lots of dissenting voices at once to ensure we’re looking after everyone equally.

  S.G.

  Note on Performance

  Scorch was inspired by recent UK cases.

  This is an invitation to distance the audience gently from a literal performance of a character by incorporating metaphor into the production. If clothing is used, try to avoid a literal association with the concept of drag. Minimal set and props are advised. Throughout, consider casting members of the audience as players in Kes’s journey. Engage and make eye contact with them. Stage directions are for guidance but open to interpretation.

  The performance leaves room for interpretation. Some see Scorch as dealing with LGBTQIA concerns, some with trans, some with a general duty of care towards young people, and this may be reflected in casting. The dissensus is deliberate.

  Scorch was developed with support from Anchor and Buoys NI. In the original production the voices of local young people from these groups were incorporated on pages 34–5.

  Huge thanks to Stef O’Driscoll, Amy Conroy, Naomhán O’Connor, all those at Anchor and Buoy, Suzanne Bell,

  Ellie Kendrick and Amy McAllister.

  S.G.

  ‘There is no original or primary gender a drag imitates, but gender is a kind of imitation for which there is no original.’

  Judith Butler

  ‘Get away from her you bitch’

  https://youtu.be/RDqTwSO1DDc

  Character

  KES

  Note

  Changes may be made to suit whatever town or city the performance is taking place in. There is room here for judicious ad libbing.

  This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so may differ slightly from the play as performed.

  (A young person, warm, nervous energy. This is KES. Maybe we don’t identify them as the audience congregate.)

  (Perhaps the audience form a circle, of which KES is part.)

  (For some time we are KES’s mirror as KES unselfconsciously examines the reflected body.)

  (As KES imitates the body language of audience-members-as-reflection.)

  (As KES dances to music)

  (maybe)

  (camply)

  (maybe)

>   (as we have all done alone.)

  (Then:)

  The suede waistcoat is my favourite.

  Brown suede.

  Um.

  I have a waistcoat with elephants stitched on it too.

  And I have a silky waistcoat.

  With cats on it.

  Maybe mice.

  Not sure.

  I am a ‘deb-bon-air eight-year-old’ Granda says.

  I have a bouncy-ball collection.

  I’m shaping up to be a real ah, ‘heartbreaker’ Granda says.

  He called the self-service machine in Tescos ‘young lady’ though, so…

  (Brightly.) I have lots of waistcoats. I love them.

  (Thinks.)

  Try weeing standing up.

  Yeah. Wee standing up.

  I have a brother and boy cousins, so um, think it’s cos I haven’t tried.

  I’m wearing cords. Stand at the toilet. Confident. Then this stain, down my favourite blue corduroys. Hide them in the rockery.

  Wonder what Mum thinks when she digs them up.

  ‘That is not a carrot,’ probably.

  Uhm.

  Wake up and boobs. You know? Like, no one asked me. Just pop up overnight. Like in Alien. The film? With Sigourney Weaver? Only out of my chest. Twice: (Demonstrates.) pft. Pft.

  Want to give them back thank you bye.

  I’m a boy. Then eleven. Then boobs.

  High school’s okay. It’s okay. In high school I have the same friends. Climb trees, football, et cetera et cetera tomboy grow-out-of-it phase et cetera.

  Try being girly.