Kate O’Donnell changed me

When I spontaneously went to the theatre I didn’t really know what to expect nor did I expect to feel the way I felt after the performance.

It was a Wednesday evening and I had nothing planned, in fact I was just going to catch up on Stage School with a brew and then go to bed.

Then all of a sudden I was off to the theatre to go and see Kate O’Donnell performance of You’ve Changed.  I must admit, I had never heard of her or seen any of her performances before. So I did a little bit of research and found out that Kate is the Artistic Director  for Trans Creative UK, Award wining transgender performer, writer & activist You’ve Changed tour.  I then  started reading a review of the performance written by Lyn Garnder  .  And the words that stuck out for me were personal, cabaret and transition.

 

If you know me then you will know that I am a massive supporter of cabaret, from Frisky and Mannish   to EastEnd Cabaret  I love it. And I like a personal story in a theatre performance- something that brings emotion and the audience can relate to.  Then we get to the word- transition. A word that I know very little about and have no experience of, so on that note I thought I’d go the show and wait to see what it was all about.

 

 

And let me tell you, Kate O’Donnell You’ve Changed- changed me. Like I said before I had no experience or knowledge about being transgender or what it is like to transition, so this show was a real eye opener for me, but it wasn’t too full on.  Kate didn’t force it down our throats about her experience of transitioning. I am often too scared or I feel naive when I want to know more about transgender but this performance has answered all my questions.

This performance told Kate’s story of what it was like to transition.It was done in a comedic/classy way, in that she started the show dressed in a top hat and tail very much like Fred Astaire and finished the show in a beautiful gown looking like Ginger Rogers.

It was very fresh, very current and very funny.  I was a little scared and nervous before I arrived at the show however I left that show feeling better educated about transgender and most importantly I felt fabulous in every single way.