QuoteThere is an old gag (I am a big fan of old gags) which goes something like, "I'm not a doctor, I just play one on TV." I like it, and identify with it, because it resonates with my own performance practice. I do not think of myself as a drag queen, but I know many people do; I suppose it's because I am in possession of a penis and a rather nice stash of frocks, but now I'm being overly explanatory.

When I have to define my gender I have often been at a loss because I don't think I'm a man, I don't think I'm a woman, not transsexual, not a transvestite, but rather transdrogynous (and yes I did make that word up). To put it best, my gender is Katherine Hepburn. You'll see me in trousers and a straight to business attitude when I'm writing or rehearsing, but then you'll see me at a soirée or a book launch in a cocktail dress and clip on crystal earrings. I have learnt how to construct and express my gender almost exclusively from women, both in the theoretical and theatrical. From Kate Bornstein to Legs Malone, from Judith Butler to my sister Nicola, Simone de Beauvoir to Fauxnique, it has been ladies who have learned me.

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