Autistic performer Paul Vickers (or Twonkey) on the task of dragging up for this year’s show Twonkey’s Zip Wire to Zanzibar
I started thinking about the best way to make things fun and interesting again for myself was to perform my show as a different character. It made sense to me for that character to be a woman. Twonkey’s widow seemed like a good idea, but becoming her was much harder than I first imagined. The other day I was trying to break into some pink eyeshadow with a hammer, and I found myself thinking ‘I’m pretty sure this isn’t what women do?’ Another tricky aspect is the world of wigs. It’s very difficult to get a wig that fits and they’re also very hot under the lights so at the moment I’m trying to do without one, because I think ultimately it’ll make it a lot easier. Twonketta’s style could evolve to include hair ornaments or ribbons or flowers or decorative hair clips!
I was always a fan of Dame Edna, Barry Humphries said when he was performing as her, the character had a life of its own, and he was often surprised at some of the things he found himself saying. It was almost like he became possessed by the character. I have performed this new show a few times before the fringe and I found a similar thing happened, which is exciting and opens up new comic impossibilities. I once performed a character called Mr. Pines, who was Twonkey’s manager, he disliked the show intensely and a similar thing happened then also, but it’s different with Twonkey’s widow because she can be critical to a point but also with an affection for it as well, so it gives her an extra drive , It’s not as one dimensional as Mr. Pines.
My autism diagnosis also led me to believe that I may be a little bit gender fluid, and I thought it was a good idea to embrace that and I am supportive of the trans movement and I think people should be allowed to live their life as they choose and in peace so yeah, I’ve always being in favour of wild peace.
To coax ideas from myself, I use a process called ‘systematic erasion’, which is where I have a lot of ideas and then I’ll slowly destroy them or remove them by cutting something down. It’s like putting your hands in a big wobbly mound of clay. You have to really push your fingers in until the top comes off. Ultimately you will have something left on the plate and I plan to use that as my latest and most delicious meal ever.
If I lose all interest in myself that could be seen as a bad thing so reinvigorating is an important stepping stone. Challenging myself and pushing myself is vital. I’ve been mining my subconscious in a creative way since I was a teenager. At times it has taken its toll on my mental stability. It has also given me a whole life of work and all the songs and shows – they give me almost a diary of my whole life, which I sometimes look over and try to decode.
Twonketta has developed a wardrobe of some significant size over the last year because I buy a lot of things that I just think may be suitable. Sometimes I throw things together believe it or not, and yeah, I’ve got a certain daft style. Someone said to me recently that they felt that perhaps I was a little bit too good at the drag thing and that I should probably just cover myself with gravy because they felt personally that I should look like I just fell out of a dirty kitchen. I suppose that I’ve always been into things that are a bit cute but also a little bit nasty, so that’s always been part of the aesthetic. So I think when creating a female character there’s always gonna be this cute thing going on mixed with, hopefully, a bit of grit and I hope people will like her and feel I have made the right choice with my bold move forward.
Twonkey’s Zip Wire to Zanzibar is on at Dragonfly from July 31st
