Writer & Director: Hannah Bevan
In the words of writer and performer, YD Clark, Butch is “an ode to lezzers”. Part performance, part video essay, part lecture, Clark has put together an engaging show that provides a fascinating history of some of the lesser-known (to this reviewer) figures in queer history, and specific, detailed accounts of the punishments enacted upon women who failed to conform to gender norms – who were, in short, butch. There are also beautifully rendered tales of youthful fascination and excitement at seeing queer adult women, and analyses of the cultural depictions and narratives around lesbians through late-20th century popular culture. While much of this is interesting, well-written, and wonderfully told, it is at times a bit too scattered – a clearer sense of what the piece is, where it was going, and why would have only served to emphasise Clark’s qualities as a performer and Hannah Bevan’s as a writer.
Clark enters the stage in a vest and dark jeans, with short hair, ready to discourse on the history of gender non-conformity, from classical quotes to the Second World War to the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. She is effortless and comfortable onstage, with some crowd interaction highlighting her ease in this space. She has some delightful set piece ideas, recounting and reciting from the trials of historical women who were “female husbands” – that is to say, living as men and marrying women. These quotations are brutal and horrifying, but there is a sense that an opportunity was missed here – focusing on these trials would have given a stronger structure and throughline for Clark to work within, and allowed the writing to really flourish in a focused way. Instead, the topics move so quickly, without sufficient justification, that it can be hard to understand where we are or how we got here.
I should stress that these are minor quibbles – many people will get far more from this show than a straight man in his mid-30s, and I am delighted that the Fringe is providing a platform for people with Clark’s evident and infectious talent. My issues with the work largely stem from wanting to see more of what was great, rather than less of what was good. In any case, Butch is well worth a go on the final weekend of the Fringe, for a curious mix of humour, poignancy, and education.
Runs Until 19th Sept 2026.
