On The Line: Alok Vaid-Menon chats ahead of their Perth show

Internationally acclaimed performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon will bring their new poetry-comedy show to Australia and New Zealand this month.

They are the author of Beyond the Gender Binary (2020) which has been described as a “clarion call for a new approach to gender in the 21st century” and the poetry books Femme in Public (2017) and Your Wound / My Garden (2021).

The tour will see Alok take the stage in Sydney on Monday 19 September, before heading to Brisbane on Tuesday 20 September, Perth’s Astor Theatre on Wednesday 21 September, before Melbourne on Thursday 22 September, and then Auckland on Friday 23 September.

Ahead of their arrival in Australia Alok recounted a violent altercation that they experienced on their last trip to Australia six years ago. After bumping into a man on a Melbourne tram they were punched in the face by a man who said ““I’m OK with gay people, but you’re too much.”

The gender non-conforming artist who has a great love of fashion and jewelry, was wearing a pink jumpsuit and platform heels at the time. A child of Indian and Malay parents, they grew up in Texas before making the move to New York City. The journey from small town to big city to seek acceptance is one known to queer people the world over.

Graeme Watson spoke to Alok about small towns, transphobia, why gay, lesbian and bisexual people are sometimes the ones arguing against rights for other minorities, media manipulation, the importance of history, and what to expect at their show later this week.

Visit www.tegdainty.com for tickets & tour information.

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