Beth Watson, creator and star of Hasbian, answers our most burning questions about her show, which will be coming to grace Norwich Theatre Stage Two in just a few short weeks and giving us the lowdown on the inspiration for her cringe-inducing, hilarious, and highly relatable story about surviving the most awkward years of teenagehood growing up queer in 00s Brighton.
Tell us a little about yourself and the show
I’m originally from Brighton, and Hasbian is a show about the events that I wrote about in my teenage diary. I only kept a diary for a couple of years in the early 00s, but it was a dramatic time for me! I’ve worked in lots of different forms over the years – theatre, storytelling, drag, cabaret, comedy, poetry – and I think Hasbian contains flavours of all those influences.
Describe the show in three words
When we asked our audience to describe Hasbian after our London shows, several people described it as “surprisingly sexual”, haha! I’ll add that it’s also nostalgic and very silly.
What led you to begin your Queer Diary events, which inspired the show?
I started reading my teenage diary on stage as part of an open-mic style diary-reading night called ‘Dear Diary’. I got a real kick out of it, and audiences seemed to enjoy my teenage antics. So, I kept going back for more and bringing more queer pals to join the audience every time. Eventually, I created a spin-off event… but for the LGBTQIA+ community … called ‘Queer Diary’ – it’s a pun!
Hasbian sprang out of Queer Diary. I’d read a couple of diary entries, and it’s such a rollercoaster; people ask, “What happens next?”. So Hasbian tells more of the story of my chaotic youth, going deeper into the lore – with the caveat that teenage Beth may or may not be a reliable narrator.
I’ve changed the names in my diary to save the blushes of my friends (and foes) from that time. I’m not about to get sued by any exes 25 years later.
What’s your favourite part about doing this show?
Surprising people!
What part of the show has been the most difficult for you to perform, and which part have you enjoyed the most?
I don’t love remembering the bullying and homophobia my friends and I received, and some of the toxic ideas I internalised. But it’s a reality of our existence in a cis/het-normative society – in the 00s, and now. It’s part of what shaped us, and hasn’t gone away, so it can’t be ignored.
Because this show is for LGBTQIA+ audiences, I don’t spend much time on the details of that stuff, though – we know it too well, and ultimately, Hasbian is a comedy, with queer community and connection at its heart, and queer silliness front and centre.
How did you go about designing the show?
The projections in the show were created by the brilliant Edalia Day!
I had an idea when I first started writing Hasbian that I wanted to rename all the people I mention in the diary after the actors who I’d cast to play them in a 00s teen movie of my life. I imagined magazine cut-outs of the actors appearing on a projection screen to represent my friends, crushes, etc (why not cast Lindsay Lohan as my first love?! It’s my show!)
I’d seen Edalia’s show Too Pretty To Punch a few years ago and never forgotten how amazing the projections were. I was also super impressed by how she’d used projection to integrate captioning, which is a form of accessibility you don’t see often enough in touring fringe theatre.
So, Edalia was the first person I contacted to be on the creative team, and (luckily for me), she said yes, bringing the vision to life with even more panache than I could’ve imagined! As for the variety of Wizard of Oz-esque red shoes that I wear on stage – they’re all my own collection – model’s own, built up over decades of fairly intense Oz fandom.
How do you want the audience to feel after watching the show?
Sore from laughing too much at my ridiculous teenage self? But also galvanised.
If they were anything like me at school – I was a “weird kid” – they’ll hopefully feel empowered to reclaim some of their teenage memories. Some coming-of-age experiences are tricky – especially for my generation of queer kids who grew up during Section 28. When we find and build community across the full LGBTQIA+ spectrum, there’s so much hope, passion, strength, and solidarity to be found.
Is there anything about the show that the audience might find surprising?
I can’t say too much without spoiling the surprises! But I think people might be surprised by some of the dubious “role models” I looked up to when I was younger.
What’s your favourite memory from performing this show, any funny audience reactions or situations while travelling?
One of the first times I read my diary on stage, a straight couple in the audience looked baffled and slightly horrified at something I said! It was hilarious to me. I’ll never forget them, because they cemented my decision to make Hasbian with an entirely LGBTQIA+ team, and to unashamedly create it FOR queer people.
Straight allies can come see the show, but I’m not pausing to explain anything – they’ll have to do their own research after, if they don’t get a joke!
Hasbian is playing at Norwich Theatre Stage Two on 12 Oct. For more information or to book, visit norwichtheatre.org or call the Box Office on 01603 630 000.
