I absolutely love theatre. The way a script or lyrics combined with beautiful sets and extreme costumes can sweep you away into a performance is magical. Everybody’s talking about Jamie is a new musical about trans-dressing and acceptance of who you want to be. I came across the show in it’s opening few months, now three years on and soon to be opening on broadway as well as the premiere of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie the Film, I’ve realised how influential the man it’s based on really is.
The story behind the show is entirely true; it was written from a documentary made about an openly gay 16 year old boy, Jamie Campbell, who wants to grow up to be a drag queen. He comes from Sheffield and lives with his mum, in a council house in a rough neighbourhood. Every day he goes to school and is horrifically bullied or tormented about the way he looks, dresses and his sexuality. Throughout the show, he overcomes numerous hurdles with the help of his Muslim best friend Pritti, dedicated mum Margaret and extremely close family friend Ray. Pritti helps Jamie decide to go to prom in a dress to show everyone that he is proud of who he is and who he wants to be, so Jamie goes to a drag shop, where he meets Hugo. An ex drag queen himself, Hugo is keen to help young Jamie in any way he possibly can, loaning him Jamie’s first dress and securing a gig for Jamie at the local social club to perform in drag for the first time. The drag show goes exceptionally well: most of his classmates are in awe of Jamie but Dean, Jamie’s worst bully. Knowing it will hurt Jamie, Dean calls Jamie “disgusting”, something his dad called him when he first saw Jamie in a dress. His headteacher calls Jamie and his mum into school and explains that Jamie is banned from his prom if he turns up in anything but a suit and tie like the other boys. At this point, Jamie believes his dad is still part of his life, when Jamie finds out his Mum has been lying about it for years he is furious and runs away from home getting beaten up on the way. Eventually, Jamie makes his way back to his mum and apologises for everything. On prom day Jamie decides to go in his dress and heels and everyone, even Dean, is accepting of him, what he is wearing and who he wants to be, other than Miss Hedge. Two of the girls stand up for Jamie and explain they wouldn’t go in if Jamie wasn’t allowed. Eventually, Miss Hedge gives way and Jamie has the night of his dreams. The show ends with a song called ‘Out of the Darkness’, which is about acceptance of who you are and the confidence to always be yourself. It really is a touching show and has had such a huge impact on so many people.
I first saw the show after seeing the original documentary and having looked into the cast and making of the show, as well as the real Jamie, Jamie Campbell for an A Level graphics project, I thought it would be a great opportunity to try to actually meet Jamie Campbell.
When I did actually meet the man himself, I realised how much of a huge opportunity it was to have a one to one interview like that. Having spoken about the themes and potential ideas for my project I then went on to try and get a deeper understanding of him and his mentality. A response that really stuck with me was how he said that so many people have been in contact with him, exclaiming how inspired they felt and how much of a positive impact the show has had on thousands of people who feel similarly to Jamie, or hadn’t yet discovered who they were, or had the confidence to be who they wanted to be. Jamie told me how one single mum had got in contact with him, explaining how her son, who had Asperger’s and who hadn’t left the house or spoken to anyone but her for years had the confidence to go and see the show after watching the documentary. Then having seen the production he managed to actually speak to people, enough to mean he could go to a mainstream school and make friends for the first time. Other people had told Jamie they were seriously considering suicide before seeing the show, but that it gave them the confidence they needed to be who they really are. The stories were endless and really quite touching too.
As well as speaking about the show and his experience of drag I wanted to try and get more of an understanding of how the transition between man to queen takes place. In response, Jamie explained how for him it’s all about the wig and the lipstick. They are always the last thing he puts on and the items that mean he is now Fifi La True. On top of this, his relationship to clothing, accessories and colour were fascinating. Jamie’s favourite colour is purple as to him it’s “just a feminine blue”. He sees pearls as a sign of truth and honesty. He explained in the documentary the reason he approached the production team was so that if there were cameras he would feel more safe; that people wouldn’t hurt him or be so physical if there were people watching. After the documentary pearls became his metaphorical cameras. Because pearls meant truth and being true to himself, Jamie believed that if he wore pearls they would give him the strength and courage to go somewhere he might be wary of as he didn’t know how he would be accepted there.
Having spoken to Jamie it gave me a whole new perspective on how drag queens, crossdressers and transgender people view clothing. Colours describe their emotions sometimes in day to day wear, sometimes in costume. An outfit or accessory can mean so much to someone to give them the power to feel free to be themselves. I myself have definitely seen my own clothing, as well as others in a very different light since speaking to Jamie, and I challenge you to do the same.
St.
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