Bridge Markland sits in Munich’s Café Jasmin and orders a matching jasmine tea. Her outfit, nonchalantly androgynous: a purple turtleneck sweater under the pinstripe suit. As she talks about the upcoming “Go Drag! Festival” in the Bavarian capital, you can feel her enthusiasm, but also a certain nervousness. “Of course you ask yourself whether enough people are coming and whether people understand what we want,” she says and explains: The idea for the Go Drag! The festival was originally created in collaboration with Diane Torr in Berlin, a pioneer of drag art who was known for her provocative works. The festival, which is now taking place in Munich for the first time, starting May 1st, differs from other drag events today because it shows this art beyond the traditional men-in-clothes stereotypes.
The first festival took place in Berlin in 2002, followed by 20 years of silence. “I tried to apply several times, but didn’t get any money. I wanted to build a community, but that fell apart again,” remembers Markland. But then, two decades later, two young Berlin drag performers, Nancy Lund and Olive Baldwin, contacted her. They wanted to revive the festival with new energy.
While preparing for the festival in Berlin in 2022, Markland received an invitation to Munich. The Pathos Theater shows interest in their project, and suddenly doors open in the Munich cultural scene. From drag artist Ruby Tuesday to the Gasteig theater management to dedicated production teams, a community is created that is ready to make the festival in Munich a reality. With Go Drag, Bridge Markland tries to create a space that not only celebrates drag art in all its facets, but also raises political and social questions. Her concern to promote drag by women, trans people and non-binary people goes far beyond the mere show aspect. Topics such as gender identity are also discussed in discussions and panels. “It’s not all glitz and glamour, there are other aspects to life too, and that’s part of this art,” emphasizes Markland.
The Munich drag art scene impresses the performer. At a “Kings of Munich” show she noticed how diverse the audience is. “There’s an audience eager to have fun sitting in the hurdy-gurdy ( Editor’s note: Munich cabaret theater), who watches a drag king show – and does so with great enthusiasm,” she says, fascinated. She finds this mix of queer and heteronormative viewers, young and old, astonishing. She sees the city’s openness as a sign that the Drag art finds fertile ground here, even if the reading of children’s books by two drag artists in a library in Munich in 2023 was accompanied by demonstrations.
Markland speaks about himself with a kind of ease. She talks about discovering her own identity. Early in her life she began to break away from traditional gender roles. This freedom to express herself independently of social norms was a natural step for her. She describes herself as an androgynous woman. “I’ve been shaving my head since 1990 and have always liked wearing men’s clothes. But sometimes I also like wearing lipstick,” she explains in a deep, relaxed voice and smiles. The combination of male and female attributes reflects her personality, which does not subordinate itself to any fixed role. Her performances are characterized by this creative mix of gender expression and role play.
The now 63-year-old Berliner’s enthusiasm for performance art developed early. After graduating from high school in 1979, she trained as a gymnastics teacher and took dance lessons. Between 1991 and 1996 she lived regularly in New York to explore the city’s dance and performance culture.
With her theater project “Classic in the Box” she manages to make classic German plays such as Lessing’s “Nathan the Wise” accessible to today’s audience. She relies on a combination of playback, puppetry and music. In her performances, she takes on numerous roles and switches between them, often in the midst of songs and costume changes. “I’m always discovering new nuances and changing the pieces. They don’t last longer than 90 minutes – longer than that is too long,” she explains pragmatically. The performances contain numerous songs that complement the classic text.
There’s the song “Burning Down the House” by them talking heads, which accompanies the dramatic opening of the performance “Nathan in the Box”, in which Nathan’s house is on fire. For Markland, the relevance of this piece lies in the timeless message of Lessing’s original: tolerance, understanding and interreligious dialogue. At a time when religious and cultural tensions are present worldwide.
“Actually, Nathan was too educational for me, too much of a learning piece. When I decided to do it, the war broke out in Ukraine shortly afterwards. Now, unfortunately, I have to say, the piece is more relevant than ever.” The dolls and costumes she uses are the work of English doll designer Eva Garland. She only uses recycled materials for the costumes and dolls. Bridge Markland also appears with her performance “Kinging the Drag – Dragging the King”. “The process of changing is part of the plot here. There is a scene in which I put on a pinstripe suit. While I put on the suit, I speak a dramatic text. The whole thing is a performance in which I become more and more masculine step by step become.”
In addition to Bridge Markland, you can experience the Munich Go Drag! Festival many other artists. Drag performer Majic Dyke shares his experiences as a drag artist in Kenya in a lecture. Pandora Nox, winner of Drag Race Germany, leads a drag move workshop.
Bridge Markland is excited to share her passion for the art of drag with audiences. She remains optimistic that the Go Drag! Festival helps push the boundaries of art and spark discussions about identity and gender. “Diane Torr and I have always said that drag kings have to think big” – and this is exactly what Bridge Markland is implementing with the festival in Munich.
International festival “Go drag! Munich”, May 1st to 5th, Gasteig HP8, Pathos Theater, in Gasteig HP8 and other venues, information at www.gasteig.de