“Although the show is very visual and musical and in many says very fantastical, it’s based on a very true story, and I’m learning to trust that as the heart of it.”
WHO: Brook Tate
WHAT: “A young Jehovah’s Witness comes to terms with his sexuality and finds his feet (and high heels…) in a world he once believed would be destroyed at Armageddon. Birthmarked is a new concept gig written and performed by Brook Tate and his grand ol’ band of pals. With original music likened to Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell, alongside a whale, a paintbrush and a pair of tap shoes, he hopes to shine a light on what it means to be marked… at birth. Written and composed by Brook Tate. Directed by Sally Cookson.”
WHERE: Assembly Rooms – Ballroom (Venue 20)
WHEN: 19:15 (90 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
This is my first time at Edinburgh Fringe, and I’m kind of trying not to overthink it. I keep reminding myself that it’s just me and my pals doing a gig, which we’ve done so many times before, but there is certainly a pressure in the background…! I think the main thing I have in mind is that this is an opportunity to talk about something I was told never to talk about, and to be able to bring this to the biggest festival in the world feels very special. I had never been to a festival until 2016 when I left the religion of Jehovahs Witness. I started going to music festivals and my mind was just blown open with how expressive people were, and how much creative freedom people had. It took a few years, but I eventually let myself be more expressive creatively, and Birthmarked is a result of that. I have always loved theatre, and I’ve realised that a festival of theatre is where I’m meant to be. So I’m extremely excited about being part of Edinburgh Fringe this year. I just need to make sure I sleep…somehow.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
We performed Birthmarked last year at the Bristol Old Vic as part of Mayfest, an international festival of theatre in the south west. It was the biggest show and longest run of performances I had done, and I learnt a lot about my brain, that it can run at 200mp, but I need to learn to apply the breaks, and that’s the hard part sometimes. I’ve kind of had to learn to trust the show and trust us as band. Although the show is very visual and musical and in many says very fantastical, it’s based on a very true story, and I’m learning to trust that as the heart of it.
Tell us about your show.
I ‘wrote’ Birthmarked in 2021, and by ‘wrote’ I mean I started explaining the meaning behind the songs I performed with my band. I’ve been playing gigs with my band since 2017, but I had never unpacked what I was singing about. I had written a bunch of songs after I had been excommunicated from the religion I grew up in – Jehovah’s Witnesses – and I used them as a way of processing what had happened and how it had affected my family, but no one really knew what I was on about. Then, in 2021, I decided I would open up about it all. The religion has very harmful practices and I felt a pretty strong drive to shine a light on it, especially after seeing how it had effected many people I knew. When I lost contact with people I was once so close to, I felt kind of desperate. Due to how powerful the practice of shunning is, I was left to accept that I had lost, and the religion had won. But eventually I realised I couldn’t just lay down and let this happen.
Performing and telling this story is the best way I can think of to get my experience across despite being ‘silenced’ to the ears of the people I most want to hear it. So, I started giving context behind the songs, added some costumes, some body paint, some puppetry and some tap shoes, and the show formed itself. Eva Redman, my drummer, took on the role of Gayle the Whale, and we improvised our way through the ‘show’. Hannah Smith, producer of The Wardrobe Ensemble, supported me in the show’s first ‘outing’ at a small festival in 2021, and she is still producing the show today (which I’m SUPER grateful for. She’s so fab. Ta Hannah… v much.)
Sally Cookson saw a very rough version of the show and offered to help take it to the next stages, which lead us to getting support from The National Theatre, and eventually to the main stage of the Bristol Old Vic in 2022 as part of Mayfest. We currently don’t have any plans beyond Edinburgh Fringe, but we have been selected by Horizon Showcase as one of ten shows this year, which brings over international producers to see the work one show. So, hopefully, a whale and a zebra will be getting to explore the world a little bit in the future…?!
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
If audiences are interested in finding out more about the workings of Jehovahs’ Witnesses, there is a play by an ex- Jehovah’s Witness called ‘Awake, Gay and Writing a Play’, which gives an insight into the world of someone who was deeply committed to the preaching work and how their world unravelled as they dissevered more about their religion and themselves. The gaps that are left in my show are covered very much in this one…
Also, I saw an utterly beautiful storyteller last year called Niall Moorjani, exploring queer identity, gender and mystical folklore and it was sooooo gorgeous. Amongst all of the spectacles and highly produced shows, this storyteller at the back of a library really stuck with me. They are performing a new show called A Fairie Tale this year at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
To keep track of what I’m up to and how things are developing you can find me on instagram @brooktate and twitter @brooktateart. My website is brooktate.com and you can also find me on Youtube under the same name!
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